Standing outside the Dallas Cowboys' locker room Sunday in Baltimore, Jerry Jones spoke approvingly of the effort his team gave during a 31-29 loss to the Ravens. The Cowboys owner and general manager even said it was the best game his team has played this year. To many, that sounded like Jones was satisfied with a moral victory against a difficult opponent. On Tuesday, Jones clarified that he was not. In an attempt to show where his goals remain for the 2-3 Cowboys in 2012, Jones continued to reference the New York Giants' run to the Super Bowl after going 9-7 during the regular season. Jones then said this current Cowboys group is still a championship contender. "It's terribly disappointing. But we played physically. We did things that we can win with in the future," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. "We're 2-3, so that's five games into a 16-game season. We don't have time to have a bad time here. We've got to have some wins to make sure we're in the hunt. But we are fresh off, I keep pointing it out, a world champion that won nine of 16 ballgames last year. "We know that you want your team as healthy and as in sync as it can be as we get on in to the end of the season. We know that we've played one division game and won it. We've got those guys, the Giants, coming back in here. We know that's going to be a big game for us. All of those things give us a chance to take a team that is evolving into — if you look at the pluses yesterday — evolving into a team that can be a team that can compete for the championship. Not next year, this year." Wait, compete for the championship this year? "Correct," Jones responded. "Correct. Let me emphasize that. I'm not into everybody getting better, learning for years to come. It's this year."
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