Tom Rock: Giants' Cam Skattebo trying hard to fit into role as No. 1 running back

The Giants didn’t make a trade for a big-time, play-making running back this week.
Cam Skattebo tried to prove they probably didn’t have to, and for a while it seemed like he’d stick that point like he does the landings on his post-touchdown backflips.

But there were times, especially late in Thursday’s loss to the Commanders, when the Giants needed someone to wiggle free for an extra yard, to push a pile just a bit further, and give the Giants a chance to seal a game that they should have won.

Was this the Jonathan Taylor Regret Game for the Giants?

No. But it was the Cam Skattebo Is What He Is Game.

That, of course, is exactly what Skattebo said earlier this week when the trade winds were whipping around the Meadowlands.

“They know what I can do,” he said on Tuesday. “You know as long as the guys up front take care of what’s going on up front and I can take care of the rest, then you know we’re gonna be in a good shape.”

He may not be on the level of Taylor, the prize of the trading deadline who wound up being just about the last guy left in Indianapolis after their yard sale. But the second-year Giant showed he could be capable of helping this team get to where it wants to go . . . even if it wasn’t enough to beat the Commanders on Thursday night.

Skattebo ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a 24-21 loss at MetLife Stadium. The performance came just two days after the uneventful trade deadline for the Giants, and two days after Skattebo pooh-poohed the need to add anyone else.

He wasn’t the reason they lost and loosened their grip on the NFC East. But he did have an opportunity to seal the victory after they took a lead and Jevon Holland intercepted Jayden Daniels with 5:25 left. The Giants had to punt. Then they got the ball back on an Ar’Darius Washington pick with 2:15 left and again they couldn’t hang onto it and convert rushing first downs.

Good teams do that. Good running backs do that.

These Giants could not. Other than in Week 1 against the Cowboys they haven’t done that at all.

There were other gaffes too. Malik Nabers had a fumble and couldn’t come down with a heave in the final seconds of the game. Dominic Zvada missed a 33-yard field goal early on that was a huge difference-maker.

The opportunity to add Taylor would definitely have made the Giants better, perhaps even to the point of contending to go deep into the NFC playoffs. Skattebo may be enough for them to win the division ultimately, something that would absolutely be a crowning achievement for the team in its first year under John Harbaugh. And considering they are on their third starting quarterback it would be a colossal success.

They are still in first place.

But when the chance to do more arrives, teams should grab it. The Giants tried to. They were interested in offering a second- and fifth-round pick for Taylor. They made dozens of calls around the league for other running backs (as well as players at other positions).

None worked out. So they went into the second half of the season with Skattebo as their lead back, not necessarily because they decided to, but because they were required to. And Skattebo? He tried to make sure they didn’t regret it.

He did a lot of things in this game. Not sure that was one of them.

“I think we fell short in a couple third downs,” Skattebo said. “We had opportunities at the end of the game to close it out and we didn’t. It’s simple as that.”

Thursday was Skattebo’s first action since the win in Houston when he injured his hamstring. He sat out Sunday’s win in Philadelphia.

It was very clear that the hamstring wasn’t going to be a problem for him in this game when he took an underhand forward flip from quarterback J.J. McCarthy for a gain of 34 yards in the first half. Late in the second quarter he capped a massive 16-play, 72-yard drive by the Giants with a 1-yard touchdown run. He celebrated that with his trademark backflip then performed Jaxson Dart’s signature celly, a nod to the injured quarterback and his very good friend.

Then, in the third quarter, he rumbled 13 yards for his second touchdown that gave the Giants a 14-10 lead, crossing the goal line while his t-shirt was being tugged apart.

On that one he wasn’t the only flipper. Wide receivers Malachi Fields and Darnell Mooney joined in on the gymnastics with him for the triple dip. Left tackle Andrew Thomas looked like he was going to join the fun, too, then thought better of it.

It was a display of just how contagious Skattebo’s energy and enthusiasm are to this team. He may not be the most talented back in the league, but he brings other elements that no one else can provide. Not even Taylor.

“So awesome, man,” McCarthy said of Skattebo’s contribution. “Juice. He’s a force multiplier in terms of his energy. The way he runs the ball, runs so hard.”

It was an eventful game for him that included him getting sick on the bench (he laughed off that spillage saying he ate a pretzel-wrapped hot dog shortly before kickoff that didn’t sit well with him). And on a third-and-1 quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter for some reason he remained in his three-point stance rather than joining in the pushing. Jameis Winston was at first awarded a first down but replays respotted the ball short and the Giants wound up punting it back to Washington with 3:16 remaining.

“You’ve seen what I can do,” Skattebo said. “When I come out and I’m ready to play football on any given night, I could be one of the most dangerous backs in the league. And that’s as simple as that.”

Said John Harbaugh: “Cam ran really well. Cam ran hard. He played well tonight and was excellent . . . We just didn’t do what we needed to do to win.”

Didn’t do it? Or didn’t have the people to do it?
It’s a question that will hover over these Giants for the rest of this season.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.