Tony Romo questions were laid to rest today, as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback had back surgery and is done for the season.
Coach Jason Garrett said Romo had surgery Friday after consultation with doctors during the week following his injury during a victory over the Washington Redskins.
Kyle Orton will start for the Cowboys on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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"The procedure happened this morning," Garrett said. "We felt the surgery went well. Tony should be able to come home later today and start his rehabilitation.
"He'll start his road to recovery, sooner rather than later. We're completely confident he will rehab and come back at 100 percent."
The Cowboys face the Eagles in the NFL's 8:30 ET regular-season finale. The winner goes to the NFL playoffs as NFC East champion. The loser is done.
Romo was placed on injured reserve following his surgery. He injured himself when he tripped over his foot while trying to escape pressure earlier in the fourth quarter.
"He might have had his finest hour against the Redskins last week, what he did at the end of that ballgame under the circumstances," Garrett said. "Pretty special."
Romo lost the past two winner-take-all finales — to the New York Giants two years ago and Washington last season. He also lost to the Eagles in the same situation in 2008.
Philadelphia (9-6) is trying to complete a worst-to-first turnaround from a 4-12 season under first-year coach Chip Kelly. The Cowboys (8-7) want to end a three-year playoff drought.
Earlier this week the Cowboys brought Jon Kitna out of retirement to serve as backup quarterback.
Romo reportedly had a pain-relieving injection as treatment for a herniated disc.
Despite his injury, Romo last week delivered a brilliant fourth-quarter performance to turn a 23-14 deficit into a 24-23 victory.
During a conference call with the Philadelphia media on Thursday, Garrett said the Cowboys had to see how Romo would respond to treatment before a decision could be made. Now his attention turns to Orton running the offense.
Orton has thrown 15 passes in the regular season since signing with the Cowboys in March 2012. Romo passed for 3,828 yards, with 31 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. His 96.7 passer rating is the eighth-highest in the NFL, according to the Dallas Morning News.
He will make his first start since the finale in 2011, which he finished with the Kansas City Chiefs after getting replaced by Tim Tebow in Denver.
"We've been operating as if Kyle Orton is going to be our starting quarterback," Garrett said. "At the same time we were trying to do whatever we could to see if we could help Tony and get him back as quickly as possible. We just felt like this was the best course of action."
Orton is 1-1 against the Eagles in his career, throwing six touchdowns and three interceptions while averaging 194 passing yards per game.
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Contributing: Associated Press