Manchester United were held to a scoreless draw at Sunderland on Saturday, two points behind English Premier League leaders Chelsea with one more match played.
"I think you've got to give credit to Sunderland," Ferguson told Sky Sports, praising the performance of a team managed by former United captain Steve Bruce.
Bruce said: "That's as close as we are going to get (to beating United). We needed to take one of our chances and maybe that's our Achilles heel."
Everton moved off the bottom and out of the relegation zone as they won 2-0 away to Birmingham City for their first league victory of the season, ending City's 18-game unbeaten run at St Andrews.
The Toffees' long-awaited success, allied to Wigan's 2-0 win over Wolves, saw Merseyside rivals Liverpool drop into the bottom three ahead of their match against top-flight new boys Blackpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Tottenham ended Aston Villa's winning run under Gerard Houllier with a Rafael van der Vaart double inspiring a 2-1 come-from- behind victory, while West Ham and Fulham shared the points in a 1- 1 draw.
Fourth-placed Manchester City, who beat Chelsea last week, play Newcastle on Sunday. League leaders Chelsea face a London derby against Arsenal on Sunday.