In this context, "we were winning" means that at a certain point during the game, the speaker's team was in the lead or ahead in terms of the score. "Winning" is used here to describe the state of being ahead in the game, not the moment of achieving final victory. The continuous form "were winning" indicates that at that point in time, the team was in the process of leading the game, but it does not necessarily mean they won in the end. Here's a breakdown of why "we were winning" is used: * Progressive tense: It indicates an ongoing action or state at a particular moment in the past. * Continuous state: The team was in the lead for a period during the game. "Winning" in this context does not refer to the final result but rather to the ongoing state of being ahead in the game.

"We were winning" is in the Past Continuous tense [was/were + the Present Participle of the main verb.] In the Simple Past tense "We won" would describe a completed action in the past, but in the continuous tenses the meaning is slightly different. As David said, you can think of it as being ahead at a certain point of the game. We are winning = We're ahead right now. We were winning = We were ahead at a point in the past or for a period of time in the past.

“Winning” in this context can be understood to be mean “in the lead”. For example, let’s imagine team A and team B are playing a game of soccer. Halfway through the game team A has 3 points while team B has 2 points. In this situation, you can say “Team A is winning.” In your example, the word “winning” functions as an adjective, it describes the condition of the team at a given point in time. This is called the present participle. But the important thing to remember is that the present participle, despite its name, does not determine tense. Consider this example: “The water was boiling when I entered the room.” In this sentence, “boiling” functions the way “winning” does in your example.

"He won" does indeed describe an event. That is because "won" is the past tense of the verb "to win". Verbs create action. Verbs make things happen. However, "winning" is an adjective, not a verb. It can only describe. It cannot act. When you say "he was winning" it only means he was a winning boy. Present participles, like "winning", do not have precise meanings. It can mean anything the speaker wants it to mean, so long as it has some connection to the verb "to win".