Jerry Jones slams "unthinkable" defeat

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has admitted that missing out on the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season was "unthinkable" for his side.

The Cowboys lost 24-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles last night in a winner-takes-all NFC East clash that saw them miss out on the playoffs courtesy of a final-day defeat to a divisional rival for the third year in a row.

The defeat also means that the Cowboys end the year with an 8-8 record for the third consecutive season, and Jones was unhappy with his side's failure to show improvement.

"It's unthinkable, really, to me to be sitting here three years in a row and this game ends up putting us at .500 and this game eliminates us from going to the playoffs," Jones told The AP.

The Cowboys lost three of their last four games to blow their chances of reaching the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2009.