Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who wants to play despite a broken pinkie on his throwing hand, practiced and threw passes to receivers yesterday.

Coach Wade Phillips didn't rule out the possibility of Romo playing Sunday at St. Louis even though he said the quarterback was limited in practice yesterday and that Brad Johnson took most of the snaps.

"He threw the ball pretty well," Phillips said. "Just throwing the ball isn't all they do. ... There's some other factors that we'll see as we go along here. We still have a couple of more days."

Romo, with a protective splint on his heavily wrapped hand, threw lightly to all receivers during the early portion of practice that was open to reporters. Johnson, the 40-year-old backup whose last start was in 2006 for Minnesota, was working with the starters during drills.

Romo never handed off to running backs during the practice.

Phillips said he would probably know after practice today "what direction we want to go" as far as Romo playing. But he wasn't planning to make any announcement.

"I won't wait until Sunday (to decide)," Phillips said. "I'm not telling anybody."

Romo was hurt on the first play of overtime in Sunday's 30-24 loss at Arizona. It was originally thought that Romo could be out up to a month.

CHIEFS

RUNNING BACK JOHNSON TO SIT OUT AGAINST TITANS

Running back Larry Johnson will sit out Kansas City's game against Tennessee for violating team rules, a potentially crippling blow for a struggling young offense facing the NFL's last unbeaten team.

Coach Herm Edwards refused to specify what team rules the two-time Pro Bowler broke. But Edwards did say his decision had nothing to do with the charge of simple assault filed against Johnson this week.

Johnson, 28, has rushed for 417 yards and three touchdowns for the rookie-laden Chiefs (1-4). The Titans (5-0) come in with a defense ranked fifth overall and are giving up only 95.8 yards rushing.

HIT AND MISS

STEELERS' POLAMALU: NFL LIKE 'FLAG FOOTBALL'

Troy Polamalu wishes someone would put the football back into the National Football League.

Polamalu, unhappy with the increasing number of fines for what he says are nefarious infractions that weren't penalized, is complaining the over-the-top enforcement of contact-related rules is taking away what makes the sport so popular.

"It's becoming more and more flag football, two-hand touch," said Polamalu, the Pittsburgh Steelers' four-time Pro Bowl safety. "We've really lost the essence of what real American football is about. They're not really concerned about safety, because people have been doing this for ... quite a few decades."

The NFL, concerned the ever-increasing size and strength of players may be heightening the risk of serious injuries, is strictly enforcing all contact rules, especially those involving quarterbacks and helmet-to-helmet hits.

ELSEWHERE

Jets: New York Jets safety Eric Smith thinks the NFL "made an example" of him with its punishment of his helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona's Anquan Boldin a few weeks ago. Smith was suspended and fined $50,000, including one game check, after the scary collision near the end of New York's 56-35 win Sept. 28. "If you compare it to the other fines and the extent and the value of the number they put on the other fines, I definitely feel that I may have been made an example of," Smith said yesterday.

Steelers: Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker didn't practice again yesterday because of a sprained left knee and might not play Sunday in Cincinnati. Parker, coming off three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, was injured Sept. 21 in Philadelphia.