Walter Smith’s men had much of the game and created enough chances to win the game comfortably at Fir Park.
But they lacked a cutting edge and simply couldn’t get the better of a stubborn Well rearguard.
The Ibrox outfit did have the ball in the second half when Kris Boyd broke through the central channel and netted.
But although TV replays showed he was onside, referee Steve Conroy blew his whistle to say he wasn’t a second before the striker shot and his effort didn’t stand.
That’s a decision that irked Smith, especially after his team was denied a win at Aberdeen three months ago in similar circumstances.
Ferguson played the full 90 minutes as he came in for the injured Kevin Thomson and grew in confidence as time went on.
But he will have been annoyed at not leading his team to victory as Gers failed to win for in the league the fourth time this season.
Rangers had finished strongly at Kilmarnock on Sunday and were keen to start with the same tempo at Fir Park.
Kyle Lafferty had an early go at goal but his effort was straight at Graeme Smith and no trouble for the former Ibrox keeper to gather.
Moments later, as the visitors claimed for a free kick after an apparent foul on Ferguson, Boyd played on and called Smith into action as he smothered his drive.
Kenny Miller then tried his luck after Kirk Broadfoot flicked on a long Ferguson throw but the Scotland striker was always struggling to convert from an awkward height.
Back came Motherwell with the best chance so far and Allan McGregor had to get down well to block from Keith Lasley before Gers scrambled clear.
It was shaping up to be a fairly even contest and Smith made sure it stayed that way when he grabbed Pedro Mendes’ flighted free kick once Sasa Papac had been brought down.
Play began to swing from end to end a little more, with the two keepers almost taking it in turns to snuff out dangerous crosses.
At one end McGregor clutched a Paul Quinn centre while Smith was there at the other to throw himself on top of Madjid Bougherra’s pass as Boyd lurked with intent.
Ferguson, meanwhile, wasn’t imposing himself on the game as much as he’d have liked, although that was understandable after the period of time he has been out.
It is probably unfair to single the skipper out as it was a scrappy affair in the first half and nobody in particular took control.
Miller almost changed that when Boyd played him in on goal after some neat interplay involving the midfield.
But he tried to beat two men when going past one would have done and with that, the chance was gone.
Motherwell responded once more by charging upfield and Bob Malcolm’s free kick after a clumsy Bougherra foul was deflected away for a corner that came to nothing.
Both teams were being stretched and Gers drove out of defence, with Lafferty just failing to connect with a great Steven Davis cross from the right.
Ferguson was also denied a dream goal on his full return when Miller’s cutback fell to him and Smith did well to get in his way.
Rangers were starting to exert pressure and Boyd played in Miller with a cute header after Bougherra’s long ball upfield.
In turn, the former Derby hitman got past his man brilliantly and brought out a really good stop from Smith.
Miller came close again with half-time approaching, beating Boyd to a Lafferty flick after Davis fired into the danger area.
But Smith was equal to the task again, holding well when it seemed the resulting shot might land in the top corner.
The interval came at a bad time for the Light Blues, who were building momentum and looked like they might make a breakthrough.
Indeed, they lacked the same impetus when they emerged for the restart and were slow to get going again.
Davis tried to give them a spark and both Boyd and Miller were inches from prodding in his low, raking cross.
McGregor then had to act swiftly to retain parity and he made an excellent fingertip save to deny Chris Porter when he evaded Bougherra.
Miller had another opportunity to give Gers a lead they would probably have deserved but his flashing header from another Davis cross went well wide.
Mendes came closer with a fierce drive but the grateful Smith got there to ensure it stayed out.
It seemed a goal wasn’t too far away but who was most likely to get it remained unclear as Motherwell still looked a threat when they broke away.
Lafferty didn’t certainly appear to be the man who would break the deadlock and as his shot sliced away from goal, it summed up the night he was having.
Sure enough, he was soon replaced by Nacho Novo and with 15 minutes remaining, Rangers looked for the Spaniard to do something special.
But it was Stephen Hughes who almost produced it at the other end and it took another wonderful save from McGregor to keep it at 0-0.
After tipping his 25-yard curler over, Papac’s night came to a sorry end when the resulting corner came in.
He went up for a high ball with John Sutton and seemed to take an elbow in the head. After treatment on the pitch, he was sadly carried off on a stretcher but the injury wasn’t as bad as first feared.
Time was running out for the Light Blues and they tried to lift things once more but they weren’t getting the breaks they wanted.
In the end, they had to settle for a point and that means a home win against St Mirren this weekend is essential.