Chris Jones, punter turned hero, made fake punt call on his own

There were so many unlikely moments from the Dallas Cowboys' wild 20-17 victory against the Oakland Raiders that one key moment could get lost in the shuffle.

But before the referee used a piece of paper to declare a first down that led to the game-deciding field goal and before Raiders quarterback Derek Carr fumbled through the end zone to preserve the win in the final moments, punter Chris Jones was the hero that set it all up with a 24-yard run on fourth and 11.

The Cowboys had a blown a 10-0 halftime lead as the Raiders at scored 10 points to open the third quarter and the crowd at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was feeding off the momentum.

The Cowboys did nothing on their first three plays, sending Jones on the field at their own 24.

But instead of punting, he saw something in the defense and ran fro 24 yards and a first down.

The Cowboys used the spark to finish the drive with 5-yard touchdown run from Dak Prescott.

But this was not a call from coach Jason Garrett, this was Jones using the keys they practice on all week and him deciding to take off.

“We work on everything,” Jones said. “The guys up front. They did their job. We were able to keep another possession alive.”

Jones said he has the green light to take off is he sees the defense lined up a certain way. He said the fact that the Cowboys were backed up in their own territory didn't make a difference.

“You’ve got to trust it,” Jones said. “It was there. We practice it. We got what we wanted and took advantage.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 1:02 AM with the headline "Chris Jones, punter turned hero, made fake punt call on his own."