Jerry Jones: I'll Be 'Screaming Into My Pillow' Over Cowboys Missing Super Bowl

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joked that his disappointment about not reaching this year's Super Bowl makes him sound like a wounded animal.

Jones spoke with TMZ Sports in Los Angeles while in town ahead of the Rams' clash with the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.

"When y'all hear what sounds like—over these Los Angeles hills—when you think they got one of these mountain lions with its tail caught, that's me screaming into my pillow for not being in that Super Bowl," Jones said Thursday night.

The Cowboys had the look of a potential championship contender during the regular season. They posted a 12-5 record to win the NFC East division title and earn the No. 3 seed in the conference while leading the NFL in total offense (407 yards per game).

That success didn't translate into the postseason, however, as Dallas lost at home in the Wild Card Round to the San Francisco 49ers, 23-17.

Jones didn't shy away from his frustration following the quick playoff exit.

"Extraordinarily disappointed. Very disappointed. Disappointed for our fans," he told reporters after the Jan. 16 loss. "This is quite a letdown. ... They outplayed us."

The good news for Jones and the Cowboys is their championship window should be open for a while.

Quarterback Dak Prescott quickly returned to form after missing most of the 2020 season with an ankle injury, and most of the talent around him, both in terms of playmakers and the offense line, is set to return in 2022. Wide receiver Michael Gallup and guard Connor Williams are the most notable free agents.

Dallas also made major strides defensively, jumping from 29th in scoring defense in 2020 (29.6 points allowed per game) to seventh in 2021 (21.1). NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons played a key role in that rise, and the emergence of cornerback Trevon Diggs with a league-high 11 interceptions gave the Cowboys a playmaking weapon in the secondary.

The front office will have to work some salary-cap gymnastics in the offseason, as Spotrac projects the Cowboys $21.1 million over the cap based on the top-51 roster, but those types of concerns rarely lead to major roster-altering changes. Teams find a way to make it work by moving money around within individual player contracts.

So, while Jones' disappointment about last month's playoff loss hasn't quite worn off, he can take solace in the fact that the Cowboys should remain firmly in the title picture for the foreseeable future.