CHICAGO -- Jerry Jones might not be in a position to keep Jason Garrett as Dallas Cowboys head coach anymore.

Thursday's 31-24 loss to the Chicago Bears was the latest disappointment in a Cowboys' season that has gone wrong but still has the potential to lead to a playoff appearance.

Jones has made only one in-season coaching change in his tenure as owner and general manager and, at times, Thursday's game was reminiscent of Wade Phillips' final game on Nov. 7, 2010, a 45-7 defeat to the Green Bay Packers.

The day after that loss Garrett was installed as interim head coach and has had the job ever since.

Thursday's loss was the Cowboys' third straight and as disheartening as any they have had because of what was on the line.

After the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Buffalo Bills, Jones said he would not make a coaching change and professed faith that Garrett was the right coach to change the team's fortunes. Jones was envisioning the Cowboys running the table, winning the NFC East and becoming a threat to compete for a Super Bowl.

Given the performance Thursday, even Jones' confidence has to be shaken with his team 6-7 with three games to play.

For the second straight game, the Cowboys' offense opened with a first-possession touchdown. For the second straight game, things went downhill after that.

Like the loss to the Bills in which the defense allowed 26 straight points, they were scorched again, giving up 24 unanswered points to the Bears.

The Cowboys' defense had a first-possession interception, its first takeaway in 263 snaps, but then gave up touchdowns on three of the next four possessions to close out the first half. The defense contributed mightily as well with three third-down penalties that kept Chicago's touchdown drives alive.

The offense wasn't much better. After opening with a season-long 17-play drive that covered 75 yards and ended on an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown run, the offense went six straight possessions without a score and gained just 57 yards.

Jones has remained more patient with Garrett than he has with any other coach. Chan Gailey was fired after making the playoffs in 1998 and '99. Dave Campo was finally let go after three straight 5-11 finishes in 2002. Phillips made the playoffs in 2007 and '09 but was doomed by a 1-7 start to the 2010 season.

Garrett is the second-winningest coach in Cowboys' history to Tom Landry with an 83-66 record, but he has not gotten past the divisional round of the playoffs in three postseason appearances. He entered this season with a must-win mandate since he does not have a contract past this season.

A potential issue for Jones is who to make the interim coach even if he wanted to make the switch. In 2010, Garrett was the clear choice. In 2019, passing game coordinator Kris Richard, who calls the defense, and coordinator Rod Marinelli have presided over a group that has disappointed.

Despite entering Thursday with the top-ranked offense in terms of yards per game, with first-year coordinator Kellen Moore, the offense has bogged down in recent weeks.

If there is any optimistic bent to the Cowboys' playoff chances, which might save Garrett's job, it's this: According to ESPN's FPI, the loss dropped the Cowboys' chances of making it to the postseason to just 70 percent. Had they won, their chances would have improved to 77%.

But is there any sense of confidence that the Cowboys can right all their wrongs before they play the Los Angeles Rams at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 15 even if Jones makes a change at head coach?