UPDATE: Cam Skattebo’s numbers at the end of the third quarter, with the Giants down 17-14 to Washington — 13 carries for 59 yards and two touchdowns, plus three catches for 44 yards.
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Giants coach John Harbaugh decided to not overextend his tight draft assets and deal for Colts running back Jonathan Taylor at the trade deadline.
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That put the spotlight squarely on Cam Skattebo — still the Giants’ No. 1 back — for Thursday night’s soggy home game against the Commanders.
In the first half of this pivotal game — as the Giants try to extend their shocking lead in the NFC East — Skattebo performed reasonably well.
Still, the Giants went into halftime down 10-7, after gaining 151 yards.
Skattebo’s numbers at the half: eight carries for 35 yards and a touchdown, plus two catches for 37 yards.
Skattebo’s 1-yard touchdown dive put the Giants up 7-3 with 2:35 left in the half. The Commanders immediately answered with a 67-yard touchdown drive.
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Skattebo and quarterback J.J. McCarthy combined for a highlight-worthy moment on third-and-7 in the first quarter. Before getting hauled down, McCarthy flipped an underhanded pass to Skattebo, who sprinted for a wild 34-yard play that moved the Giants to Washington’s 21.
But the drive ended with Dominic Zvada’s missed 33-yard field goal, keeping the game scoreless.
These were Skattebo’s numbers at the end of the first quarter: three carries for 23 yards, with a long of 14, and two catches on three targets for 37 yards. An encouraging start, thanks to that 34-yard gem.
Skattebo arrived Thursday night at MetLife Stadium and walked into the locker room wearing a Giants-themed “Iron Man” helmet/mask. He clearly was trying to make the point that he can handle a hefty workload — especially on a night with sloppy weather conditions.
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After Harbaugh this week opted to not trade for Taylor, Skattebo insisted he has what it takes to thrive as a No. 1 back in the NFL.
The past month has been eventful for him, to say the least.
On Oct. 11 in Washington, his fumble (on a wet day) cost the Giants a likely overtime win. (They were lucky to escape with a tie.) A week later, Harbaugh benched Skattebo, plagued by ball security woes, against the Saints.
In the next game, Skattebo responded by running for 124 yards and a touchdown in a massive overtime win at Houston. But he hurt his hamstring on his final run that day, so he missed last week’s post-bye week win in Philadelphia, site of his devastating ankle injury last year.
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Against the Eagles — with Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy sidelined — the Giants’ running game sputtered, as Devin Singletary managed just 31 yards on 21 carries.
Skattebo made his return — without having to worry about being replaced (at least during the season) — on Thursday night against Washington.
He wanted to show Harbaugh — with a Houston-like gem — that he didn’t need to revisit the Taylor situation next offseason.
This is a massive game for the 5-2-1 Giants, who lead the 4-5 Cowboys and 2-5-1 Commanders in the flawed NFC East.
Harbaugh is trying to improve to 5-1-1 without quarterback Jaxson Dart (including 3-0 with J.J. McCarthy as Dart’s replacement) and 3-0-1 overall in division play.
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The Giants entered Thursday having polished off three (really, four) one-score wins since Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, underscoring their newfound late-game resilience with Harbaugh.
Since the Cowboys have a challenging game against the 49ers this weekend, the Giants could emerge from this week’s games in complete control of the division.
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Plus, this franchise hasn’t won three straight games since 2023.
The Giants won just 13 total games over the past three years. They last captured their division in 2011.
As they chase the NFC East crown this year, Thursday is a critical game for head-to-head tiebreaker purposes, since they tied Washington in the teams’ first matchup.
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