ARLINGTON, Texas — Dee Winters came back from a shoulder injury Sunday and recovered a fumble that set up a Dallas Cowboys touchdown in the third quarter of the home opener against the Washington Commanders.
Marcus Mariota threw short left to Dyami Brown at the Washington 24-yard line. Jaishawn Barham made the tackle for no gain and knocked the ball loose. Winters picked it up at the 24 and returned it 11 yards to the Washington 13. Neither team had turned the ball over to that point.
Dallas took over at the 13. Dak Prescott threw 12 yards to Jake Ferguson for a touchdown with 6:34 left in the quarter, and Brandon Aubrey‘s extra point made it 27-13.
Jaishawn Barham Forces The Fumble And Dee Winters Recovers
Winters had gone to the blue medical tent on the Dallas sideline in the second quarter with the shoulder injury, and Shemar James took his snaps at linebacker until he came back.
Barham, a third-round pick out of Michigan at No. 92, is playing his second NFL game. He started at middle linebacker Sunday and wore the green dot, the job of relaying defensive coordinator Christian Parker‘s calls to the rest of the defense, because DeMarvion Overshown was ruled out Friday with a hamstring strain.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer gave Barham the green dot on Friday and said the crowd noise at AT&T Stadium would make the communication harder than usual.
“The green dot, I think, gets overblown at times,” Schottenheimer said. “And again, basically what you’re doing, you’re repeating the call, and then you’re setting fronts and all that, and then knowing it’s going to be a harder, more nonverbal week of communicating because of the crowd noise.”
Dee Winters Returns As The Cowboys Lose Two More Defenders
Barham played 34 defensive snaps in his debut last Sunday night at MetLife Stadium and finished with 6 tackles, including 1 for a loss. He was flagged for a neutral zone infraction on the first New York Giants touchdown drive in the 28-20 loss. Winters played 40 snaps in that game with 4 tackles and 1 for a loss.
Video of a sideline exchange between Barham and Parker during that game circulated during the week. Schottenheimer said Wednesday at The Star that he had zero doubts Barham would play well against Washington.
“We’re not going to put guys out there that we don’t trust, one,” Schottenheimer said. “Just because a player makes a mistake doesn’t mean we don’t trust them.”
Dallas lost two more defenders on Sunday. Safety P.J. Locke went out in the first quarter with a foot injury and cornerback Cobie Durant went out with a hamstring injury. Safety Malik Hooker, who had surgery Tuesday on a forearm he fractured against the Giants, was ruled out Friday along with Overshown.
The Cowboys acquired Winters from the San Francisco 49ers during the 2026 draft for the No. 152 overall pick. He played in all 17 games for the 49ers last season, recording 101 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 5 passes defensed, and 1 interception that he returned 74 yards for a touchdown.
Washington had 254 total yards through the first three quarters. Dallas led 27-13 with 6:32 left in the third.
Washington ruled out linebacker Frankie Luvu and tight end Chig Okonkwo on Friday. Next Sunday the Cowboys play the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, and CBS has the 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff.
