Dallas Cowboys: 3 Players with rising stock following Week 15 win

3. Chris Jones, Punter

One of the turning points in this game for the Cowboys came on the gutsiest play of the season. After Oakland tied it up at 10, Dallas went three-and-out and was in danger of seeing this thing go the other way as they had just surrendered 10 unanswered and allowed a long drive before the half that ended in a missed field goal.

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That’s when punter Chris Jones took matters into his own hands. At their own 24-yard line and facing a fourth-and-11, Jones took the snap and instead of punting it away, he took off running. The athletic punter sprinted for 24 yards and gave Dallas new life. The drive ended with a touchdown rush by quarterback Dak Prescott, and may have been the biggest reason Dallas won as they had little else in terms of sparks in this game — and will be the play of the season should they find a way into the playoffs.

The craziest thing about it all though was that Jones did this all on his own. According to Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram, he has the green light if he sees the right coverage and decided to take advantage of that in the heat of the moment. Hill has the following quote from Jones after the game:

"“We work on everything,” Jones said via Hill. “The guys up front. They did their job. We were able to keep another possession alive.” Jones later continued by saying “you’ve got to trust it, it was there. We practice it. We got what we wanted and took advantage.”"

Jones has been an unsung hero for Dallas all season as he’s excelled at pinning opponents deep on the punts. He showed off Sunday night that he’s also one of the grittier players they have as well.