The Dallas Cowboys will be without their starting quarterback when they take on the Arizona Cardinals in a clash of two of the NFC's best teams, as the club officially announced that Tony Romo will not play on Sunday.
Tony Romo out against the Cardinals Sunday
With Tony Romo unable to go, the Cowboys will turn to backup Brandon Weeden to start against the Cardinals.
After suffering a back contusion in the Week 8 loss to Washington on Monday Night Football, Romo was unable to recover in time to play against Arizona in Week 9. It was revealed later in the week that he suffered two fractures to his transverse process, two small bones extending from the vertebrae. There was some hope earlier in the week that Romo would play. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the press it was a matter of pain tolerance.
With Romo out, backup Brandon Weeden will be thrust into the starting role against a Cardinals defense that ranks third in the league in rush defense, but 32nd in pass defense. It will be Weeden's first start for the Cowboys, though he did come on in relief Monday night after Romo took a knee to the back and had to leave the game. Weeden led Dallas to two scoring drives that resulted in 10 points. He threw a 25-yard touchdown to tight end Jason Witten in the fourth quarter to tie the game and eventually send it into overtime.
Still, Weeden has just a 5-15 career record as a starting quarterback. The Cardinals will try to make the 31-year-old quarterback beat them, and focus more on stopping running back DeMarco Murray, who leads the NFL this season with 1,054 rushing yards.
Rookie Dustin Vaughan will be active as the backup quarterback.
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