Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said that his side's 45-28 defeat to the Chicago Bears last night was understandable but not acceptable.

The Cowboys' defensive woes this season continued in the match as the Bears made 497 yards and scored on their first eight possessions on their way to a commanding victory.

The result leaves the Cowboys' one win behind the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East with just the Green Bay Packers and divisional rivals the Washington Redskins left to play before a crucial regular season finale against the Eagles, and Jones has warned that his side cannot not afford another defeat if they want to reach the NFL playoffs.

"If we can't lose a division game, we can't have another loss that Green Bay would give us, then it looks like we've got to just carry it on out," Jones told reporters.

"But that seems a little empty right this minute, right after we've just seen us have the inability to get a stop out here. That's very frustrating. I can almost say it's understandable, but that doesn't make it acceptable."

Jones has also called for his side to take more risks in defense as they look to stem the tide of points being scored against them.