[Bette]

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has practiced cautious optimism all season long while his team marched to a conference-best 13-3 record - certainly excited, but all too aware of the pitfalls in the playoffs.
Still, Jones admitted Sunday's shocking 21-17 loss to the Giants probably was the most disappointed he felt since the Cowboys' quest for a three-peat ended with a loss to San Francisco in the 1994 NFC Championship game.
"I don't know that I can remember, unless you go that far back, hurting this bad," Jones said.
"We got beat in the NFC Championship game out in San Francisco to a really good team. And I think the thing that does make this cut and hurt so deep is because of the quality of players we've got and the kind of team I think we have a chance to be."
The 2007 season marked the first time since the "Triplets" dynasty that the Cowboys were widely favored to reach the Super Bowl. Now, they'll have to wait another nine months to start working toward that goal again.
"I just regret it for these players that have worked hard all year long and I regret it for our fans, and I regret it for Wade (Phillips) and the coaching staff," Jones said. "It's just not the way you would think that with what we accomplished in the regular season that we could end up."




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