Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes that winning games is a lot harder to do in the NFL nowadays compared to when he took over the club.

Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 and won three Super Bowls in his first six years at the club, but since then they have failed to progress beyond the Divisional round of the playoffs.

"The first night I got a chance to talk about being the new owner of the Cowboys, I said, 'We've got to win, winning is the name of the game,'" Jones told 105.3 The Fan.

"That's really what it's all about at the end of the day, winning the football game. It never occurred to me that we would have the challenges that we have, winning the football games.

"I didn't anticipate this league that we're in. I'm not critical of it, but boy, is it a balanced league."

The Cowboys have not reached the NFL playoffs since the 2009 season.