Jerry Jones gives colorful quote over not making Super Bowl 56

As Super Bowl LVI gets ready to kick off on Sunday, Dallas Cowboys fans are left wondering what could’ve been. Count Jerry Jones in that group, too.

The Cowboys had a great regular season, going 12-5 to set up a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round. But the 49ers won the game 23-17 — sending Dallas home earlier than many expected.

Now, the Super Bowl is coming up this weekend between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. Jones gave an interesting answer about how his feelings toward the game.

“When y’all hear what sounds like … 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, via TMZ Sports.

As part of the season, some Cowboys received some special honors this week. Rookie sensation Micah Parsons won Defensive Rookie of the Year — no surprise — and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn earned NFL Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Dallas ranked No. 7 in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing 21.1 points per game this past season.

Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams kicks off from SoFi Stadium on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Stephen Jones addresses big concern from the Cowboys 2021 season

The Dallas Cowboys came into 2021 with high expectations for the offense, but penalties in key moments held them back all season. As the team resets for 2022, the front office, including Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones, is focused on limiting those penalties by whatever means necessary.

While meeting with the media after a disappointing playoff loss, Stephen Jones spoke about the penalties which held the Cowboys back.

“We’ve got to clean that up,” said Jones, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “Holding penalties are drive-killers. We’ve got to clean those things up and I think it will certainly impact some of the games we weren’t successful in.”

Among the possible ways to cut down on penalties, few include upper management intervention, unless they opt to change coaching staffs or make big roster moves. With Mike McCarthy receiving a vote of confidence from the front office, those options seem unlikely given the strength of the roster returning in 2022.

The Cowboys hold the No. 24 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft which they can use along with limited cap space to help address the holes on the roster and hopefully limit penalties that way along with more coaching.