Tony Romo shares a lot of similarities with Brett Favre, says Saints coach Joe Vitt. (US Presswire)

Is Tony Roma an elite quarterback?

Don’t stop reading there, even if the phrase makes you want to gag at this point. Statistically, Romo is having the best stretch of his career, and Saints interim coach Joe Vitt put him in heady company.

“He has Brett Favre like characteristics,” Vitt said. “He has the same arm action. The ball comes out flat and he has a low trajectory. He buys time, has pocket awareness, can make the impromptu play and has his A-game going right now. I know that’s some special company that we are putting him in but that’s kind of the skill he reminds you of when he is hot.”

The Saints, coming off by far their best defensive performance of the year, will try to cool Romo down this Sunday in Dallas. The surging Cowboys have won five of their last six, rising from 3-5 to a tie for first place in the NFC East.

In that span, Romo has thrown for 12 TDs with only three interceptions, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,875 yards. If the Cowboys beat the Saints, they can clinch the division title in their regular-season finale against the Redskins.

“He (Romo) is one of those guys from the far hash, he can throw it deep out to the other side of the field and someone is going to tell me with one-on-one coverage, how you are going to defend that, because you really can’t defend a perfectly thrown ball,” Vitt said. “He is putting the ball in locations where only his receiver can catch it and my hat’s off to him.”

Brees’ Cowboys roots: Saints QB Drew Brees was born in Dallas and grew up in Austin, Texas. He was a teenager in the early 1990s, when Dallas won three Super Bowls in four seasons from 1992-95.

Naturally, he became a huge fan.

“When I was growing up, absolutely,” he said. “They used to have training camp at St. Edwards University, which is in Austin, so I’d go to training camp, watch Deion (Sanders) drive around in his black Mercedes golf cart. Troy (Aikman) and the fellas winning all those Super Bowls.”

The last time New Orleans played Dallas, the Saints won 30-27 on Thanksgiving Day in 2010.

For Brees, this one won’t have the same significance as that one. Thanksgiving is a huge tradition for Cowboys fans.

“You’d gather around on Thanksgiving Day and you were eating turkey and watching the Cowboys game and then going out, throwing your sweats on and playing a little tackle football game of your own in the yard.” Brees said. That’s what it was all about.”

Jenkins OK with move to IR: Saints free safety Malcolm Jenkins, who sustained a knee injury against the New York Giants on Dec. 9, agreed with the coaches’ decision to place him on injured reserve.

They made that decision last Saturday, meaning his season is over.

“It’s frustrating, but at the same time it’s probably the smartest decision in the end,” Jenkins said. “It’s a two-to-three-week injury. The best-case scenario was for me to play the last week in the Carolina game. Our chances to make the playoffs are slim right now, so I don’t know if would be smart to try to squeeze back into that last game.”

Jenkins finished the season with 94 tackles, seven deflections and one interception. His biggest regret about sitting out the rest of the way is missing a chance to be part of a resurgent defense.

The Saints, who still are on pace to break the NFL record for most yards allowed in the season, posted their first shutout since 1995 against Tampa Bay last Sunday.

“Just as a competitor, it’s frustrating,” he said. “It was hard to miss that shutout. Right now I have to fill into this role of helping the other guys out and being a cheerleader.”

Vitt dismissed the notion the Saints were looking at younger players now that the playoffs were all but out of reach.

“Listen, we are saying with Malcolm, it would have been a push for him to play,” Vitt said. “If it’s a push for him to play, then all of a sudden that’s three games that potentially you’re a man short. So listen, the next man up is our philosophy.”

Injury Update: OT Zach Strief returned to practice on a limited basis Thursday after missing the Tampa Bay game with a sprained ankle. Will Robinson started for the first time in his career in place of Strief. Also limited in practice were RBs Chris Ivory, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring problem, and Pierre Thomas, who was added to the list Thursday with a knee issue.

Vitt said all of the players who were limited in practice on Thursday had a good chance of playing Sunday.

Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on twitter @CBSSaints.