Giants' day couldn't have gone worse as far as running backs are concerned
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL game against the Giants on Sunday in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
PHILADELPHIA
The Giants used to have a dynamic, face-of-the-franchise running back named Saquon Barkley, whom they let get away to the Eagles before last season.
You may recall how that worked out, with Barkley rushing for 2,005 regular-season yards and winning the Super Bowl.
Then he offered a refresher course for Giants fans on the second play from scrimmage on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, running 65 yards for a touchdown in a game the Eagles went on to win, 38-20.
He finished with 150 rushing yards and that early touchdown, plus 24 receiving yards and a touchdown catch, all in only three quarters.
Not good for the Giants, especially given that Barkley had been mediocre this season, failing to rush for more than 88 yards in a game or more than 18 yards on a play in the first seven games.
But wait! The Giants seemed ready to move on with rookie running back Cam Skattebo, a dynamo on and off the field, a fan favorite and the best bud of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Dart threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Skattebo later in the first quarter, and it was 7-7. Barkley was the past, Skattebo the present and future. All good.
Until it was not.
Midway through the second quarter, the near-term fortunes of the two ancient rivals were further clarified when Skattebo suffered a devastating leg injury.
One is trying to win a second consecutive championship. The other is marking time until 2026 and hoping its young quarterback can develop while missing two big playmakers in Malik Nabers and Skattebo, all while getting battered physically by opponents.
On Sunday, those sorts of concerns were not on the minds of Skattebo’s teammates, who were dealing with the immediate emotions of watching what unfolded 8:07 before halftime with the Eagles leading 14-7.
Dart threw a pass to Skattebo, who was being defended by Zack Baun. As the ball fell incomplete, Skattebo fell to the ground and soon noticed his lower right leg was misaligned because of what later was diagnosed as a dislocated ankle. He underwent surgery Sunday night.
Giants and Eagles players reacted first with alarm, then with concern. Finally, to no one’s surprise, Skattebo began screaming at teammates as he was driven off the field.
“After he got hurt, he’s the one actually yelling from the cart, ‘Let’s [expletive] go, let’s do this!’ ” fellow running back Tyrone Tracy said. “For us, we’re just trying to do the best we can for Skatt because his energy is infectious.”
Said Wan’Dale Robinson, “He was just, ‘Go finish this thing!’ Just the energetic guy that he is, he was still showing that fire and juice like he wanted to play, but obviously, he couldn’t be out there.”
No one was affected and will continue to be affected more by the loss of Skattebo than Dart.
“I was devastated,” he said. “It’s my boy, man. So seeing him go down and obviously reacting to what happened, that sucks. It’s the worst part of this game.”
What about dealing with the continuing loss of offensive weapons?
“Obviously it's not ideal; it stings,” Dart said. “There are more people in the rotation, but I’ve got to be better, too, making more plays and putting us in a good situation to win.”
Dart spoke of how much losing is eating at him at 2-6. But with the playoffs now a pipe dream, all that matters is the quarterback’s ongoing evolution.
With a 26-8 fourth-quarter lead over the Broncos in Week 7, the Giants were six minutes away from setting up what would have been a hugely important game against the Eagles.
They somehow lost to Denver, 33-32, got blown out by Philadelphia and now are just another out-of-contention team with nine games to play.
It is precisely the sort of situation a guy like Skattebo can help a team deal with, and now they have lost him, too.
Darius Slayton called Skattebo “somebody who’s a unifying personality, an energetic personality.”
Kayvon Thibodeaux said, “Skatt’s a baller, man. He’s a dawg. You’ve got to respect the game, and he respects it.”
Said coach Brian Daboll, “I feel absolutely terrible for the young man.”
Meanwhile, in the winning locker room, Barkley and his teammates thoroughly enjoyed avenging a 34-17 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Oct. 9.
“For sure, we definitely saw how they celebrated when they beat us last time,” said Barkley, who sat out the fourth quarter with what he described as a minor groin injury.
The Giants have not won in Philadelphia since 2013 and have not swept the Eagles since 2007.
As for his own performance, Barkley told Fox Sports, “I knew the same player I was last year is still here.”
He was right. Now the Giants hope Skattebo can say the same come next September.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
