Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo Undergoes Back Surgery; Kyle Orton To Start Against Eagles With NFC East Title On The Line

Week 17 of the 2013-2014 NFL season is set up to be one of the most interesting and entertaining regular season finale slates in recent time. With the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers meeting for the NFC North title and the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens all looking to lock up playoff spots, the final week of the season will be chock full of excitement from start to finish. While the aforementioned teams will surely provide must-see-TV, the final game of Week 17 is full of storylines as well.

With the Dallas Cowboys preparing to host the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night in Arlington, the Cowboys will look to reverse their fortune from a season ago when they fell to the Washington Redskins in the final week, eliminating themselves from postseason contention and a division title. The NFC East crown will once again be on the line but this time Dallas will be without its primary signal caller. According to head coach Jason Garrett, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will not be available for the Philadelphia game this Sunday after undergoing back surgery.

Romo was injured in last weekend’s thrilling 24-23 victory over the Washington Redskins and although initial reports indicated that Romo was done for the season, Jason Garrett remained firm in his stance that his starting QB may be able to give it a go come Sunday. That is no longer a reality after the 33-year-old went under the knife Friday morning. A fierce competitor and someone who is known for playing through pain, the injury was simply too significant for Romo to be inserted once again as the starting quarterback.

“Tony Romo underwent back surgery this morning,” Garrett said. “We spent the week this morning taking in all the options regarding the best decision for him and our organization moving forward. Kyle Orton will be the starter Sunday and we just felt that we needed to get this done sooner rather than later.”

Back-up quarterback Kyle Orton has been named the starter for Sunday’s 8:25pm tilt at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys took down Philadelphia 17-3 on October 20 behind 317 passing yards and one touchdown from Tony Romo.