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We’ve spent a lot of time lauding the plays that Jeff Heath made at the end of the game to save it for the Cowboys when they prevailed over Oakland on Sunday. We used to call him the GOAT as a joke, now, we’re not so sure. Okay, just kidding, but he sure has a knack for making big plays at the end of games.
Perhaps we have mislabeled the GOAT for the Cowboys. The play that really seemed to change the Cowboys’ fortunes was the fake punt by punter Chris Jones. The Cowboys had just given up a 10-point lead after the Raiders had scored a touchdown and converted a field goal after an interception. All the momentum in the game had swung toward Oakland. Now, Dallas was on the verge of a three-and-out. The game felt like it was starting to slip way in the middle of the third quarter.
Enter the hero, Chris Jones. On his own initiative, he decided he could convert a fourth and 11 from the Cowboys 24-yard line.
It was not a call OK'd by Jason Garrett. It was a scenario special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia went over but the ultimate call was Jones'.
"I didn't know," said safety Jeff Heath, who was the personal protector on the punt team. "I don't know if anybody knew."
A move like this will either make you a goat or a GOAT. If you fail to make it and turn the ball over to the Raiders deep in Dallas territory, you are likely to be the goat.
But this is Chris Jones. We all know how good of a punter his is, especially in directional punting and pinning a team inside their own 20-yard line. But he read the defense, read the way the game was heading, and took it upon himself to change things.
The score was tied 10-10 at the time. The Raiders had the momentum after scoring 10 points in the first nine minutes of the third quarter.
"All of that plays a factor, but we work on everything," Jones said. "So that just happened to be what it was."
And what about the consequences if he did not make it?
"Just got to live with it," he said. "Take it as it comes."
So this happened.
How does 91 not see Chris Jones still has the ball? pic.twitter.com/sS6oHIvV0y
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 19, 2017
Just last year, Jones pulled off another one.
June 30th. 6/30.#Cowboys Punter Chris Jones, who wears #6, had a 30-yard gain on a fake punt that helped Dallas beat the #Eagles in 2016. pic.twitter.com/yh3rEmkm2i
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) June 30, 2017
Let’s not forget about what Jones can do if he has to make the tackle.
Sure, you might be saying, he’s good, but a GOAT? What about passing the ball?
The Cowboys unveiled a fake punt with Chris Jones hitting Brice Butler for a first down but Butler was called for pass interference. How many folks knew the left-footed punter was a right-handed passer? Jones had a key fake punt run last year against... https://t.co/GgSuVjjrGI
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 12, 2017
If you remember, that pass was a bullet.
So is Chris Jones the real GOAT?
Poll
The real Cowboys GOAT?
This poll is closed
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20%
It’s Jeff Heath, he saved the game and it’s tradition!
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79%
Give me Chris Jones, the Puntisher rocks!