WOODLAND HILS, Calif. – Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson caught six of nine targets for 54 yards and one touchdown in their 28-6 win over the Giants on Monday Night Football. His multi-faceted skillset was on display, but so too was his even-keeled demeanor that doesn't always get talked about compared to that versatility.
Late in the third quarter, Ferguson dropped back-to-back passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford on second and third down, after the Rams had marched to the Giants 38-yard line.
The first play on the next drive? Ferguson making a nine-yard reception. Eight players later, he punctuated the drive catching a five-yard touchdown pass from Stafford.
"I think that's from my faith, honestly," Ferguson said of his steady demeanor. "Just knowing I go out there and I play for something bigger than myself, and just that you make a bad play, you drop a ball like I've done (Ferguson smiles as he says this) doesn't make you who you are. There's other stuff outside of that, and also having the support of your teammates is huge. Whether you make those mistakes, or you make big plays, keeping it at even-keel, just being able to respond each play."
"He's a guy that you feel like you can run the ball at him from an inline standpoint, and he can also go out to the number one spot and win some routes one-on-one, and everything in between," Stafford said. "And so you sit there and go, okay, guys that can do that, we're lucky enough to have quite a few of them at the tight end spot, and then some of the receiver spot where you feel like you could run at them as well."
Puka Nacua is one of the receivers who fits that bill, and with his status for Sunday night's game against the Broncos to be determined, the Rams will likely be counting on Ferguson again as a trustworthy target of Stafford. Stafford completed the ball to eight different receivers Monday night, but it was Adams (10 targets) and Ferguson (nine) who were fed the ball the most. And this week, Los Angeles gets a Denver secondary led by All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II.
Ferguson's versatility will be important for the Rams' offense against that Denver defense. So, too, will his steady disposition.
"He was able to move around, did a lot of different things," McVay said. "I think the coolest thing is you get a chance to be able to work through some natural adversity in games too. But he's a mentally tough, physically tough guy. He got some run after the catch. He's got some ability to make plays down the field, as was illustrated last year. And I think he's doing a good job of being part of the run blocking surface. So his value is tremendous to us and I thought he did a great job. I like the way that he was able to get a lot of action and a lot of learning ops. All he's going to do is just get better and better."
A Littleton, Colorado native, Ferguson is looking forward to the chance to put all of that on display with friends and family in attendance at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday night.
"I've kind of tried to delegate it more to the wife so that she can handle that, and I can be focused on the gameplan," Ferguson said of the excitement and anticipation amongst friends and family back home. "But it's really cool, just because a lot of my family has never seen me play because I was at Oregon. Most of the time, they haven't been able to make it to games. It's far and it's expensive, so for a lot of them, it's cool for them to be able to see me play for the first time at at a high level, especially in the NFL. So it means a lot to me for sure."
