Romo has broken pinkie, out four weeks

Oct 13, 2008 - 10:41 PM IRVING, Texas (Ticker) -- One day after suffering a painful loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Dallas Cowboys received some more bad news.

Tony Romo has a fractured pinkie finger on his throwing hand, an injury that could sideline the Pro Bowl quarterback for four weeks.

In additon, the Cowboys also learned on Monday that punter Mat McBriar will miss six to eight weeks with the foot contusion. He suffered the injury after having his punt blocked by Sean Morey on the last play of Sunday's 30-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips was unsure how long Romo would be out.

"We don't know how long he'll be out ? it depends on how fast that heals," Phillips said. "I'd say week to week, depending on quickly he heals. Different people heal differently."

Romo suffered the injury during Sunday's loss at Arizona, which became the first team in NFL history to win an overtime contest on a touchdown off a blocked punt.

According to a post on the Cowboys' official web site, Romo sustained the injury on the first play of overtime. Sideline cameras showed Romo favoring his hand during the series, and his third-down pass attempt fluttered far away from its intended target.

"Obviously, he had trouble throwing the ball that last series in overtime," Phillips said.

Romo has passed for 1,689 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns this season for the high-powered Cowboys (4-2), who have lost two of their last three games.

In his first season as starter in 2007, Romo threw for 4,211 yards and 36 touchdowns, helping the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC at 13-3.

But the season ended in disappointment when the Cowboys - who have not won a playoff game since 1996 - were dumped by the New York Giants in the divisional round of the postseason.

If Romo is sidelined for the full four-week period, Dallas will use veteran Brad Johnson under center for at least its next three games.

Johnson, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2002, has been Romo's backup the last two seasons. He last started a game during the 2006 season and has thrown just 11 passes during his tenure with the Cowboys.

In his 17th season, Johnson has completed 2,627-of-4,248 career passes for 28,627 yards with 164 touchdowns and 117 interceptions.

The Cowboys visit St. Louis next week before hosting Tampa Bay on October 26. After a road game against the reigning Super Bowl champion Giants, the Cowboys have a bye in Week 10.