Cowboys' Coach Not Giving Up On Romo Playing Sunday

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett will not rule Tony Romo out of Sunday's important game with the Philadelphia Eagles even if the star quarterback does not practice on Friday.

Romo, who has an injured back, did not attend practice on Thursday as the Cowboys prepared for the home contest, which will decide the NFC East title and a playoff spot.

But Garrett played his cards close to his chest on whether Romo would play.

"Backs tend to impact your whole body and how you can function in day-to-day life. Hopefully he'll respond to some of the treatment and feel better as the week goes on," Garrett told reporters.

"There's an art to evaluating each individual injury, the player who has the injury and what his capabilities are.

"We don't have any of those hard and fast rules. We try to take each of those situations individually and we're trying to put our best players out there and put them in a position to help our team win."

If Romo does not play, his place will be filled by back-up Kyle Orton, who has appeared in two games this season, completing three of five passes.

Romo aggravated his back during the Cowboys' 24-23 defeat of the Washington Redskins on Sunday, and reportedly has a herniated disc.

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Gene Cherry)