Jones wants Cowboys to follow path of last year's Packers

Jerry Jones is a realist. He's not about to measure his Cowboys up against this year's Packers -- at least not yet. Jones does see a blueprint for his team in last year's Green Bay squad, however.

So with a pivotal division showdown against the New York Giants on tap, Jones believes Dallas has the opportunity to kick start a late surge similar to the one last year's champs rode to a title.

"They're very big in the hunt as far as, if you will, a Super Bowl," Jones said of the Giants, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Because we saw a team last year, the Packers, come back and really play well at the end and get it. So they’re there. But we're there, too."

That starts with taking care of business at home against a 6-6 Giants team that's lost four straight games. Dallas is 5-1 at Cowboys Stadium this season, but are 0-2 against the Giants in "Jerry World" since the building opened in 2009.

"We've got a game here that home field means a lot to us," Jones said. "We've played well there this year. It's important that our fans -- and I'm selling, lobbying now -- we'll have largest crowd that we've had there in probably the last year. We need it loud, and we need it rambunctious to help us beat these Giants."

Both the Cowboys and Giants have played the parts of contender and pretender at different points this season, adding to the intrigue on Sunday. Dallas has the chance to bury its rival on national television, the type of stuff Jones lives for. If the Cowboys are unable to take care of business, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves for the start of another lost season in Big D.