.500 Giants: Win & we're in first place!

Four straight losses and right where they want to be.

That's the strange reality the Giants awoke to Monday morning, still dusting off the disappointment of their last-second, 38-35 loss to the Packers but recognizing that even though their record might not reflect it, the future seems much brighter than it has at any point in the last several weeks.

"Does our record display that we're a great team? No. Our record displays that we're [.500] at this point," safety Antrel Rolle said. "But when we put things together and we go out there and we play and we display it, are we a great team? I think everyone would agree with me."

There probably are about 53 or so down in Dallas who would differ. And they'll have their chance to rebut Sunday night when the Giants (6-6) face the Cowboys (7-5) for first place in the NFC East.

"I feel like we're in a situation where we control our own destiny," receiver Hakeem Nicks said. "We know what we want to be, we know what we want to do, we just have to get the job done."

The Giants play the Cowboys twice in the final four weeks. There are various permutations in which the teams can split their head-to-heads and the Giants still can win the division, but that's not what they are focusing on.

"We know what's happening," Rolle said. "We have to win out. That's the bottom line. That's the way we look at it."

Considering the injuries they have suffered and the disheartening defeats that have pockmarked this season -- from unlikely losses against the Seahawks and Eagles to being blown out by the Saints a week ago -- it's pretty amazing that the Giants are where they are. They also have the luxury of being .500 through the first 12 games of the season and in a division without a runaway leader.

A 6-6 team often is only on the fringe of the wild-card hunt and not in the middle of a division race. But that's exactly where the Giants are, particularly after the Cowboys lost to the Cardinals in overtime on Sunday. Eli Manning said he saw that result on the video board at MetLife Stadium during Sunday's game against the Packers but quickly put it out of his mind.

"But obviously, you're always happy when a division team loses," he added.

The Giants are not happy they lost, but they do seem upbeat about the way they played. Rolle even said he thought the attitude on the sideline was much better, with teammates complimenting and cheering for each other. And Tom Coughlin reiterated his feelings from immediately after the game that although he takes no solace from the result, he thinks the effort helped galvanize the team.

The way the Giants played Sunday probably was good enough to beat 28 or 29 other teams in the NFL. They just happened to run into the hottest quarterback and, after tying the score at 35 with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion run, gave Aaron Rodgers 58 seconds too many.

"They had the ball last, that's what I believe," Coughlin said.

Rolle said the Giants will need to come out with the same intensity level Sunday night in Dallas.

"That's exactly what we need week in and week out," he said. "It shouldn't have to be said, especially with what we have at stake right now. At the end of the season, every game is crucial. You lose one, you go home. It's all about how bad you want it, and we want it extremely bad, so I definitely see the attitude and passion staying for the weeks to come."