Cam Skattebo finished with 18 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the New York Giants' 24-21 loss to the Washington Commanders on Thursday night, yet he still wanted more opportunities when the game was on the line.
Returning from a hamstring injury, Skattebo also caught three passes for 44 yards and helped power several early drives. The Giants held a late lead before Stefon Diggs' 32-yard touchdown reception with under a minute remaining sealed the win for Washington.
Skattebo addressed the limited work he received on short-yardage downs late in the game. He pointed to his overtime fumble against the same opponent in Week 5 as a possible factor in the coaching staff's reduced trust.
“It sucks, and I think part of it is I put myself in a situation
last time we played these guys that kind of killed the trust in coach maybe a little bit, me giving up the ball last time,” Skattebo told reporters. “And maybe he didn’t want to give me the ball again. I don’t know. I’m not gonna say that was something he was thinking. But I would think that as well.”
In that earlier meeting, Skattebo lost the ball at the Commanders’ 24-yard line with under two minutes left in overtime. Washington recovered, though the Giants still escaped with a 27-27 tie after the Commanders mismanaged the clock on their subsequent drive.
When asked whether he believed he could have helped move the offense into field-goal range late in the fourth quarter if he had received the ball, Skattebo stopped short of a definitive claim.
“I can’t say that. Do I think that? Yeah. But I can’t say that. It could’ve been any situation at any time,” he said.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy supported the idea of featuring Skattebo more often in those decisive moments.
“He is so awesome. The juice. He is a force multiplier in terms of his energy, the way he runs the ball, he runs so hard. We have to find a way to get him the rock in those critical situations. I was just so blessed to have him back in a New York Giants football uniform,” McCarthy said.
Skattebo’s physical running style and two touchdowns reinforced his value to the offense even as the Giants failed to close out the win.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants’ Cam Skattebo wanted the ball in crucial late-game moments
