FRISCO, Texas -- If the Dallas Cowboys somehow make the playoffs this season, perhaps Jeff Heath will finally get some credit.

If not for Heath, the Cowboys would not have won Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. His shove of a diving Derek Carr forced the quarterback to let go of the ball for a fumble out of the end zone and a touchback.

“They only had one guy over there and he was running that way, so at that point I was all-in,” Heath said. “I was going to run after him whether he pulled up or threw it or not, I didn’t really care. At that point I could tell he was going for the front pylon and it turned into a footrace.”

A footrace that Heath ultimately won, but lost from that play was the pass deflection on the previous play.

Carr looked for Michael Crabtree on a double move with a pass over the middle that appeared to be going for a touchdown, but Heath knocked it down with his left hand.

“Instincts on the first one, he obviously has good ball skills to make that play,” defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. “That was a terrific play. The other one? That was relentless. He took a great angle and he was not going to be denied. He was not going to allow our team to be denied of a win. That thing was impressive. You saw it. He looked like a missile going.”

Heath leads the Cowboys with three interceptions, a modest total, but if he ends as the leader it would be the second time in the past three seasons. The coaches have credited him with 75 tackles, good for fourth on the team, with one tackle for loss, one quarterback pressure, five pass deflections and two fumble recoveries. He is also a core special-teamer and actually made three point-after attempts while filling in for an injured Dan Bailey against the San Francisco 49ers.

“He certainly seems to have a knack. Again, we saw that right from the start when he was playing special teams for us as a rookie,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He just seems to have a nose for the ball and has an instinct and an awareness to be able to get there. I think he’s grown as a safety. He’s getting better and better and becoming a better tackler in space and making more and more plays on the ball. He certainly made the signature plays in the game [Sunday].”

Heath played at Saginaw Valley State and came to the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, so he has had to overcome perceptions. Many can’t get past the image of Adrian Peterson carrying him in for a touchdown as a rookie when Heath was forced to start nine games perhaps before he was ready to play such a prominent role.

The Cowboys did not make big pitches to retain Barry Church or J.J. Wilcox in free agency, in part because they wanted to give Heath more playing time. He has started every game and played 770 defensive snaps. The Cowboys have taken to a rotation at the position, but only between free safety Byron Jones and Kavon Frazier.

“The guy has played so well for us,” linebacker Sean Lee said. "He’s made big hits. He made another great play in the end zone, making plays on special teams. He’s been an inspiration to us for how he’s played; really proud of him and how well he’s doing.”