Cowboys report Dee Winters Achilles strain after Packers loss

Cowboys linebacker Dee Winters suffered an Achilles strain in Sunday night's loss to the Green Bay Packers, coach Brian Schottenheimer said, according to a team update posted early Monday.

Dallas had not announced a return timetable in that update. The injury adds another question at linebacker with DeMarvion Overshown already sidelined by a hamstring injury and the Cowboys preparing for an October 26 trip to Philadelphia.

Winters's night began with a significant play for a defense that had gone through its first five games without an interception. Late in the first quarter, he stepped in front of a Jordan Love pass intended for Matthew Golden and initially appeared to return it for a touchdown.

Replay overturned the scoring portion of the play because Golden had touched Winters down. Dallas instead took possession at the Green Bay 42, still trailing 7-0. The interception counted, giving Winters the Cowboys' first of the season.

His injury followed in the second quarter. Heavy's Sean Deveney reported that Winters was helped to the sideline after an ankle injury and that Shemar James replaced him. The report also cited NBC's account of treatment on the sideline. Those descriptions came before Schottenheimer's later statement, which the Cowboys' official update identified as an Achilles strain.

Schottenheimer's full postgame press conference is available below. The injury description comes from the team's written update; Dallas had not provided a detailed recovery forecast with it.

The Cowboys' linebacker situation was already limited before Winters left. Overshown did not travel to Green Bay because of his hamstring injury. Jaishawn Barham and James were the other linebackers identified in the independent report as available behind Winters, and James took on additional work after the injury.

Dallas lost 23-13 and fell to 2-4. Green Bay built a 17-0 halftime lead, with the Cowboys unable to turn Winters's interception into points. Dak Prescott threw a red-zone interception on that possession, and Dallas later lost another first-half scoring chance on a second interception.

There were defensive improvements after halftime. The Cowboys held Green Bay to two field goals in the second half and finished with three sacks. Those stops were not enough to erase the early deficit, and the Packers converted 11 of 18 third downs overall.

The next meaningful update on Winters will concern his availability as Dallas prepares for the Eagles. For now, the confirmed development is Schottenheimer's description of the injury as an Achilles strain. There is no announced absence length in the team's update, and the initial sideline reporting does not establish one.