‘It Jumped Off The Film’: Brian Schottenheimer Praises Dallas Cowboys Defense After Rewatching Green Bay Packers Game

FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday that defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark were excellent in Sunday night’s 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, and that linebacker Dee Winters may have been playing his best game for Dallas before he was hurt.

The Cowboys held Green Bay to 6 points after halftime and 57 rushing yards on 26 carries. Williams and Clark each sacked Jordan Love, and Winters intercepted Love late in the first quarter. Schottenheimer said he started his film review with the defense.

“No. I mean, again, watching the film, I kind of really felt, again, some guys that played really well on defense. I’ll start there. I thought really Quinnen and Kenny Clark were excellent for us. They were very disruptive, really good push. Both had sacks, and they kind of frustrated Jordan some in the pocket,” Schottenheimer said. “I thought both corners outside, Bland and Joey, played really, really well, good tight coverage. And I thought [Shemar] James was playing really well.”

“And then of course, Dee Winters was playing maybe his best game for us until he got hurt, but the interception was incredible. He had a coverage on a double move. They tried to get him on that, he was in perfect phase,” Schottenheimer continued. “And I thought that was something that was really, really good. And it jumped off the film this morning, watching the defensive stuff.”

Cornerbacks DaRon Bland and Joey Porter Jr. each broke up 2 passes. Shemar James finished with 4 tackles.

Brian Schottenheimer On Complementary Football And Jonathan Mingo

Green Bay went three-and-out to open the second half, and Jonathan Mingo returned the punt 16 yards to the Green Bay 46. Dallas scored on the next drive, a 9-play, 46-yard march that ended with Javonte Williams’ 1-yard touchdown. Schottenheimer said complementary football is something Dallas needs to get better at.

“I thought overall the whole defensive staff did a good job. I was very pleased with how we played in the second half. You’re holding them to six points, I thought was really good. I think you talk about [complementary] football, which is something that we need to get better at. You look at, they got the three and out to start the second half. They punted the ball. I thought give Jonathan Mingo some love,” Schottenheimer explained.

“He did a great job going back there in windy conditions and catching those punts. He had a nice return, and then we were able to go down and score a touchdown,” Schottenheimer continued. “I think that’s the definition of [complementary] football that we haven’t done enough this year.”

Mingo returned 3 punts for 18 yards after KaVontae Turpin left with a rib cartilage injury on the opening kickoff. Tyler Goodson returned 5 kickoffs for 122 yards. Schottenheimer said the wind was all over the place at Lambeau.

“Yeah, I thought Goody did a nice job on some of the kick returns. We’ll look at some different things back there, how you want to do that. We usually do one with Turp. We’ll see kind of how that goes,” Schottenheimer said. “But, yeah, again, worth pointing out, Jonathan, I mean, that was a gusty night. The wind was kind of all over the place. And I thought he did a really, really good job going back there. I think it’s the first time he’s ever caught one in a real NFL game.”

Schottenheimer On Third-And-Long And Linebacker Depth

Green Bay converted 9 of 10 third downs in the first half, including a 27-yard catch by Christian Watson and a 14-yard catch by Pierre Strong Jr. on separate third-and-13 snaps during the opening drive. Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker calls the defense, and Schottenheimer said Green Bay’s backs did a nice job on the boundary.

“A couple different things. Again, they got us with leverage on one. The first one was leverage third and 13. They hit us with a little crossing route. Some of it was tackling. We made them throw it short a couple times, and we didn’t get the guys on the ground. You got to get the guys on the ground,” Schottenheimer said. “They were over there on the boundary, and their backs did a nice job. So a little bit of coverage, a little bit of tackling, and then I know there’s one that CP would like to have back.”

Winters has an Achilles strain and is likely to miss the Philadelphia game, Schottenheimer said. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown was inactive Sunday with a hamstring injury.

“Well, I’m thrilled that hopefully DeMo’s coming back. Again, we’re getting a lot of guys repped. Shemar James, like I said, is doing a really good job. Justin Barron last night did a really good job. We put him in on a couple passing situations. They actually tried him on a little wheel route immediately when he came in the game, and he played it beautifully,” Schottenheimer said. “So that’s a position that normally gets dinged up and beat up a little bit. And both those guys, Shemar and Justin, have played really well for us.”

Rookie safety Caleb Downs led Dallas with 12 tackles, and rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham had 4. Schottenheimer said he does not think Dallas is asking too much of its young defenders.

“I don’t think so. I think Caleb’s been playing more safety. So him being back at nickel yesterday, I think you felt him getting back into that spot and everything that entails. And [Jaishawn’s] been really, really disruptive in the run game. There’s some things to clean up in the passing game for sure,” Schottenheimer said. “But both those guys are young players that are gaining a lot of experience.”

Dallas visits the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, Oct. 26, at Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. CT on ESPN and ABC.