FRISCO, Texas -- Truth be told, only Chris Jones knew he would fake a punt late in the third quarter in the Dallas Cowboys' 20-17 win against the Oakland Raiders Sunday.

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."

That's part of the genius of the fake punt. The Cowboys had the ball at their 24, which is not exactly prime territory for a fake. It was fourth-and-11, which is not exactly the ideal yardage either.

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But when Jones saw the Raiders' alignment pre-snap and then saw two players loop to his left, he took a chance he could break through the line of scrimmage and pick up the first down. Twenty-four yards later the Cowboys had a first down and ended the drive with a Dak Prescott touchdown on a scramble.

The score was tied 10-10 at the time. The Raiders had the momentum after a 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."

For competitive reasons, Jason Garrett did not want to get into too many specifics of the call. Maybe it's because he wasn't so sure it was coming. But did he like Jones' decision?

"It's a long discussion, about when you like fakes," Garrett said. "It's a nuanced discussion. Sometimes when you think it's safer to have a fake typically they are not quite as good."

It was the second time in two seasons Jones used his legs to convert a fourth-down fake into a first down. He had a 30-yard run last season against the Philadelphia Eagles with the Cowboys trailing 20-10. They would come back to win the game in overtime.

There was a difference in that fake and this one, however.

"We called the one in Philly," Heath said. "We didn't call this one."