Dalton Schultz, Cowboys TEs Fined for Whack-a-Mole Celebration vs. Giants

The NFL wasn't as fond of the Dallas Cowboys' "Whack-a-Mole" celebration during their Thanksgiving Day victory over the New York Giants as fans were.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the league fined Dalton Schultz ($13,261), Jake Ferguson ($4,895), Peyton Hendershot ($3,944) and Sean McKeon ($4,994) for their role in the touchdown celebration.

The incident occurred midway through the fourth quarter when Hendershot scored on a two-yard sweep by running behind blocks set by two of his fellow tight ends.

All four tight ends jumped into the giant Salvation Army bucket behind the end zone, with Hendershot serving as the whacker and Schultz, Ferguson and McKeon as the moles.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Ferguson said they had been planning some sort of celebration with the bucket if the opportunity presented itself:

"I think we just saw the kettle and we were brainstorming in the tight end room, like, ‘What can we do? I think we can pop up and down. I was like, ‘What about if all three of us are in there, we just play Whac-A-Mole?’ Because we knew Peyton had that play in for a couple of weeks, and we knew he was going to get in there and have an opportunity."

In the same postgame press conference, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said Hendershot, Ferguson, Schultz and McKeon expressed concern earlier in the week about potentially being fined if they followed through with the idea.

"The guys told me about it earlier in the week," he explained. "They were worried about getting fined or getting a penalty. We said, ‘Make sure you are up two touchdowns. We have a couple of guys that can help with the fines, so go for it.'"

It's unclear if Prescott was specifically saying he would cover any penalties, but the players have their chance to hold their quarterback to his word.

There was no penalty called for the celebration. The Cowboys went on to win the game 28-20 and improved their record to 8-3.