New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo might’ve been the biggest loser from Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints without even touching the football. But after watching what happened to Big Blue’s rushing attack without him, he might’ve somehow come away as the winningest loser, too.
Skatt played a whopping six snaps on Sunday and had zero touches. Not a single carry. Not a single target. While head coach John Harbaugh would like the media to believe his lack of involvement just happened out of thin air, it was pretty clear the 24-year-old was being punished for his ball-security struggles.
New York’s fan favorite has already fumbled four times through five games this season, and Harbs sent him to the shadow realm Sunday. Unfortunately, the decision backfired almost immediately. Without Skatt’s honey badger-esque running style punishing defenders, the Saints had little trouble shutting down the ground game, with the rest of the running back room managing just 34 yards on 14 carries.
And that’s where the whole winningest-loser thing comes into play. Skatt might’ve lost his spot in the game plan, but Sunday made a pretty convincing case for why the Giants need him back in it. Harbaugh can preach ball security all he wants, but if the alternative is what we just watched against New Orleans, he might not have much of a choice.
Cam Skattebo's Week 6 absence might’ve proved why Giants need him most
Even after missing an entire game, Skatt leads all Big Blue running backs with a measly 294 rushing yards. Najee Harris is second with 99. Tyrone Tracy Jr. sits third with 40, and Devin Singletary is last with 39. Even sadder, only Skattebo and Tracy have put six on the board, with one rushing score apiece.
And the numbers from Sunday somehow make the whole thing look worse... if that's even possible. According to Next Gen Stats, Harris and Tracy combined to leave 31 rushing yards on the table compared to what their blocking provided. They need a back who can capitalize on those opportunities.
Harbs is clearly looking for someone, anyone, to step up and take charge.
“I don’t like (rotating backs) either,” Harbaugh said after the game. “One of those guys needs to step up. Somebody needs to step up and be the back. And none of those guys have done that yet.”
Well, the guy with nearly three times as many rushing yards as anyone else in the room was standing on the sideline all afternoon. I understand the frustration with Skatt’s fumbling, but the Giants are averaging 3.8 yards per carry through six games and have managed just one run of 20-plus yards all season.
At some point, Harbaugh has to decide whether keeping Skattebo in the doghouse is worth watching the rest of the backfield go absolutely nowhere.
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