Winters Achilles strain leaves Cowboys with another linebacker question

Dallas has another linebacker to evaluate before its next divisional game. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said Dee Winters suffered an Achilles strain in the Cowboys' 23-13 loss at Green Bay, according to the team's early Monday update.

The Cowboys had not announced how long Winters would be out. That leaves his status unresolved as Dallas prepares for Monday Night Football against the Eagles on October 26, with DeMarvion Overshown already working through a hamstring injury.

Overshown did not travel to Green Bay. When Winters was hurt in the second quarter, Shemar James replaced him, according to Heavy's Sean Deveney. Jaishawn Barham was the other linebacker listed alongside Winters and James in that report's account of the available group.

The sequence made a difficult Dallas night more complicated. Winters had supplied the defense's first interception of the season late in the first quarter, picking off Jordan Love on a throw intended for Matthew Golden. Officials initially awarded a touchdown return before replay showed Golden had touched him down.

The takeaway still gave Dallas the ball at the Green Bay 42. The Cowboys did not cash it in. Prescott's subsequent pass intended for CeeDee Lamb was intercepted by Evan Williams in the red zone, preserving the Packers' lead.

Winters later needed help reaching the sideline after what was initially described as an ankle injury. Deveney's report, published during the game, relayed NBC's observation of treatment and reported that Winters did not return for the start of the second half. The Cowboys' later written update attributed the more specific Achilles-strain description to Schottenheimer.

The coach's full postgame press conference provides the wider context of the loss. Dallas has not paired its written injury update with a return date for Winters.

The Cowboys fell behind 17-0 before halftime and finished with a second consecutive loss. Their defense recovered enough to allow only six second-half points, while the pass rush recorded three sacks. Green Bay's 11 third-down conversions in 18 attempts still kept too many possessions going.

James finished with five tackles and Barham with four, according to the final box score. Those totals describe Sunday's workload; they do not establish how Dallas will arrange its linebackers against Philadelphia. That decision depends in part on the health of both Winters and Overshown over the coming week.

Dallas has an extra day before its next game, but there is no confirmed recovery window to attach to Winters yet. The immediate question is whether the Cowboys can restore depth at linebacker while correcting the early defensive problems that helped put them in another large hole.