A sport like football, and a league like the NFL, is built on icons, highlights, and glory. And the Dallas Cowboys, nicknamed “America’s Team,” carry this identity with pride. With a 12–5 regular-season record in 2023, on January 14, 2024, in the NFL Wild Card Round, the Cowboys were expected to flex their might against the Green Bay Packers.

Jerry Jones watched it all happen. It was a domination, not by the Cowboys but by the Packers. The game ended 48-32, with the Cowboys going down 27-0 at home late in the second quarter. In a new clip from America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, a Netflix documentary, Jones can be seen wiping away tears after the loss. He said, “Oh, what a disaster. This loss hurt us, in every way, more than anyone we’ve ever had.”

Matt LaFleur, on the other hand, who has often shouldered the burden of playoff disappointments in prior years, cut a different figure this time. To be specific, Matt’s 3-5 in the postseason. So, he knows all and more about the Ls in January. And that’s what he said. During his recent appearance on Up & Adams Show, Kay asked, “Jerry Jones was crying. The exact quote was like ‘they took it from me.’ I’m talking about the 2023 playoff game of course. Where you guys ran all over them. What would you like to say to Jerry?”

Matt didn’t take a moment to think. He replied, “I’m really sorry. Sorry not sorry, how about that? That’s this league, right? I’ve had my heart broken before, too, couple of times. Especially as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. So, it just kinda comes with the territory.” 

Rewinding to January 2024, the Cowboys fell to 4-5 all-time against the Packers in the playoffs after another heartbreak. Dallas rolled into the postseason with Dak Prescott leading the NFL in touchdown passes (36), his efficiency ranking near the top, and the Cowboys boasting the league’s highest-scoring offense. But under the bright lights, it was Jordan Love who flipped the script. Love torched Dallas with a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating, tossing three touchdowns while carving up the secondary with precision. Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks each cashed in scores, while Aaron Jones added the finishing blows, running for 118 yards and three touchdowns that hammered Dallas on short fields after costly turnovers.

The final scene wasn’t just about numbers — it was about déjà vu. Another playoff collapse dragged the spotlight back to Jerry Jones, a billionaire owner still chasing postseason glory, his empire defined as much by heartbreak as by hope. And for him, personally, a trip back to the 90s.

Jerry Jones talks about the 1994 NFC Championship loss

While talking to 105.3 The Fan, GM Jerry Jones explained how the San Francisco 49ers‘ 1994 NFC Championship Game win over the Cowboys made him feel. San Francisco handed Dallas a humbling loss on NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ in Week 8. That game, played at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, saw the 49ers storm out to a 21-0 lead before eventually securing a 38-28 victory. The win sent Steve Young’s squad to Super Bowl XXIX at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, where they dismantled the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, to capture the franchise’s fifth Lombardi Trophy.

Dallas was a great competition, too. They entered the matchup with a 13-4 record, bolstered by the star power of Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman and legendary running back Emmitt Smith. The Cowboys even clawed back into the contest after falling behind early, but their rally fell short against a San Francisco team determined to cement its dynasty. Jones said, “I personally — and we don’t need to go way back — one of the few times I’ve ever cried — literally, cried — was the [1994 NFC Championship Game] we had at Candlestick Park in San Francisco,” Jones recalled. “We lost that game, and I thought we had a great team. We lost it when [Barry Switzer] was our coach and [Deion Sanders] was a 49er. But we came back there, and I thought we had a chance to win it after a disastrous start.” 

But he still has quite the respect for the 49ers, “I can go that far back [to the 1994 NFC Championship Game] with you about what San Francisco has meant to us,” Jones said. “We’ve had some great days in San Francisco; go back pretty far to those great days. [49ers] are a great franchise; they’re formidable. We got a great history with them. Now, they’ve been to more championship games than we have, but I think we both need to see a Super Bowl …”

For Jerry Jones, the standard has long been set. The Cowboys’ streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985 remains unmatched in NFL history, with 18 playoff berths, 13 NFC East crowns, and five Super Bowl trips in their trophy room: a definition of that era. It’s a legacy of consistency and dominance that Jones often points back to, not just as a source of pride, but as the measuring stick for what he still believes Dallas can be again.