Dallas loses Winters to Achilles strain after its first interception of the season

Dee Winters finally gave the Cowboys an interception. Before the night was over, Dallas had another injury to assess at a position that was already missing DeMarvion Overshown.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Winters suffered an Achilles strain during Sunday's 23-13 loss at Green Bay, according to the team's update early Monday. Dallas did not announce a return timetable with the report.

That distinction matters for the next game. The Cowboys travel to Philadelphia on October 26, but Winters does not yet have a confirmed availability designation for that matchup. Overshown, who did not travel to Green Bay because of a hamstring injury, also remains part of the team's linebacker health picture.

Winters had intercepted Jordan Love late in the first quarter, ending Dallas's five-game wait for its first interception of the season. His apparent touchdown return was overturned on replay after officials determined Matthew Golden had touched him down. The Cowboys instead got the ball at the Green Bay 42.

It was an opening the offense wasted. Dak Prescott was intercepted in the red zone on the ensuing possession, and the Packers later added another interception before taking a 17-0 lead into halftime. Dallas never got the game back to a one-score margin after the break.

The injury came in the second quarter. Heavy's Sean Deveney reported that Winters was helped off with an ankle injury and that Shemar James replaced him. The report also relayed NBC's account of sideline treatment. Schottenheimer's later description, carried by the Cowboys' official site, was an Achilles strain.

The full postgame press conference is below. The written team update supplies the confirmed injury wording; neither that wording nor the earlier treatment report provides an absence length.

Dallas did show some defensive progress after halftime. Green Bay scored six points in the second half, and the Cowboys finished with three sacks. But Love's offense had already converted nine of 10 third downs before halftime and finished 11 of 18 for the game.

Losing Winters during that performance gave James more work alongside a group that was already down Overshown. James finished with five tackles, while Jaishawn Barham had four. Dallas has not announced a corresponding roster move or a new lineup for the Philadelphia game in the injury update.

The Cowboys are 2-4 and need their defensive improvement to last beyond isolated stretches. First, they need a clearer picture of who will be available at linebacker. Winters's first Dallas interception was a useful play; the subsequent injury leaves a separate personnel question that the final score cannot answer.