IRVING, Texas -- With tape still wrapped around his bruised throwing hand after practice Thursday, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo insisted he'll be ready to play in this weekend's playoff play-in game against the New York Giants.
"Everything's coming together like we thought, just each day it's getting a little bit better," Romo said. "We'll be good to go this weekend."
Romo wore the protective wrap on his swollen right hand, the one he banged on a Philadelphia Eagles defender's helmet on the opening series Saturday before coming out of the game. The wrap leaves his fingers and thumb free. He wasn't wearing anything on the hand when throwing Wednesday.
Romo, who played through a broken rib early this season, said he isn't worried about if he'll feel normal Sunday.
"You have to go out there and practice all week and get yourself ready to go to the game on Sunday," he said. "I'm excited that we're in this position and we have an opportunity to go and play in a big game like this. This is when it gets fun. No matter what, you're not going to sit one of these out."
During the few minutes early in practice open to reporters Thursday, Romo came out of the locker room wearing the protective wrap and made a few soft tosses. He also bantered with teammates.
"Tony did a little bit more today than he did yesterday," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "I wouldn't constitute a full practice, but he's making some progress. The swelling still is there. ... All the functional things that a quarterback has to do, he has to be able to do by game time, and he's making progress in all those areas."
Garrett said backup quarterback Stephen McGee, who finished Saturday's game after Romo was hurt, received some work with the first-team offense again Thursday.
Romo said he won't decide until later this week about whether to wear tape on his hand during the game. He never said how much pain he was feeling, saying only that, "like anything, you just have to deal with it and overcome it."
Notes: Just like last week, the Cowboys are easing Pro Bowl defenders DeMarcus Ware (neck) and Jay Ratliff (ribs) into practice this week. Neither practiced Wednesday, and both were limited Thursday ... Felix Jones (hamstring tightness) was limited again in practice, but Garrett said the running back is looking good in the work he's doing. ... LB Sean Lee missed practice for the second day in a row because of illness.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
