Orton set to start

Sunday for Cowboys

IRVING, Texas - Kyle Orton and Jon Kitna sat at opposite ends of a couch in the Dallas Cowboys' locker room Wednesday, turned toward each other and stared chatting.

They probably were talking about Dallas' offense.

Orton will make his first start at quarterback in his two seasons Sunday night with the Cowboys, unless Tony Romo can recover from a herniated disc. Dallas will be playing a winner-take-all game at home against the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East title and a playoff berth.

Romo was nowhere to be seen in any of the public areas at Valley Ranch. He did not practice, and didn't attend a morning offensive meeting, according to coach Jason Garrett.

"I'm just excited," Orton said. "I think the guys have got a lot of confidence in me. I've got a lot of confidence in myself. I can fall back on my experience. I've played a lot of games in this league. I don't feel I have to do too much with the ball, just get it to 29 (DeMarco Murray), 82 (Jason Witten) and 88 (Dez Bryant)."

Garrett hasn't ruled out Romo.

"I saw him briefly today," he said." He's fighting through it. He's doing everything he can to get back. He's going through the rehab process.

"We'll evaluate him day to day, the same as most players who are injured."

Orton has a 35-34 record in 69 starts in nine NFL seasons.