EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jaxson Dart has lit a fire underneath the Giants’ franchise. But it’s Cam Skattebo that’s providing the spark.
The rookie running back with a nose for contact has been the kind of lightning bolt that the Giants have been missing for a while. He showed his power again on Thursday night when he rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns in the Giants’ shocking, 34-17 upsets of the Philadelphia Eagles.
But it’s not the numbers that have turned the 5-foot-10, 215-pound wrecking ball into an instant crowd favorite. It’s his powerful, hard-nosed, and maybe even reckless style where almost every run he has turns into a potential car wreck — one that he somehow always survives.
“He’s a beast,” Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux told me after the game. “He’s a f—ing beast. He energizes. He’s a fighter. I love it. He’s a dog. I love the way he plays.
“There’s nothing else to say.”
That’s a pretty good description of Skattebo, the Giants’ fourth-round pick out of Arizona State. He doesn’t just run hard. He runs, at times, straight up and down as if he’s seeking a dangerous collision. And more often than not he finds one — and he ends up giving more than he gets.
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He’s also relentless, like on his second touchdown where he was hit at the 1-yard line, the line of scrimmage, and Eagles linebacker Zach Baun seemed to wrap him up and wouldn’t let go. But Skattebo just kept going anyway, even as Eagles safety Reed Blankenship bounced off of him. And even though the officials thought on first glance that his forward motion had stopped, Skattebo kept going and going and, on his third effort, powered in.
“He’s a physical back. He’s a football back. That’s how he runs,” said Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas. “He gives us juice. And it’s great for us, especially up front. He gets those dirty yards. If it’s not clean he’s going to squeeze out and extra 2-3 yards and that’s good for the offense.”
That style, his wild personality, and his penchant for screaming “Woo” like Ric Flair whenever the mood strikes him, has been a huge hit with his teammates since training camp began. The Giants have even embraced it too, making him a centerpiece of some of their social media campaigns.
But he didn’t really start to wow his teammates until he took over as the Giants’ primary back three weeks ago, replacing the injured Tyrone Tracy. He ran for 79 yards in the Giants’ surprise win over the Chargers with runs so thunderous that his teammates knew they couldn’t afford to miss them.
And they’ve been watching and feeling his energy ever since.
“He’s just a good teammate,” said Giants coach Brian Daboll. “Energy, toughness. The team can really feed off that.”
“It’s like how would you not want to play with a guy like that?” said receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. “I mean he’s going to give everything he’s got every time he’s out there. You’ve got no excuse not to do the same.”
Cam Skattebo #44 and Wan’Dale Robinson #17 celebrate after a touchdown against the Eagles on Thursday at MetLife Stadium. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
And Skattebo was still going strong late in the game, when he might have even saved his best for last. When the Giants got the ball back after a fumble by Eagles running back A.J. Dillon with 6:50 remaining, Skattebo started their drive with a powerful run right through the Eagles’ line of scrimmage. He even ran straight into Blankenship down the field and still didn’t go down for another five yards.
That 18-yard run was followed by an 11-yarder, and it set the tone for a final drive where the Giants never gave up the ball — the perfect ending to an unexpectedly perfect upset.
Dart might get most of the credit for that win, and maybe rightfully so. The rookie quarterback was 17 of 25 for 195 yards and a touchdown and ran 13 times for 58 yards and a touchdown too. He’s now 2-1 since he took over the starting job from veteran Russell Wilson and has given the Giants an excitement they haven’t had in years.
But he’s not the only cause of the Giants’ resurrection. Skattebo has had a big hand in it. And he’s quickly emerged as a fan favorite too.
“It’s been awesome,” Skattebo said of the crowd’s reaction to his runs. “I mean, they feel the energy. They see it, They know we have a little something behind us – a little underdog feeling that lights a fire underneath us.”
That’s not the only thing they have. The Giants suddenly have a winning energy, too — something they haven’t felt around here since 2022. Dart and Skattebo are ushering in a new era.
And Skattebo is making sure they’re bringing a whole new attitude with them, too.
“Me and him [Dart] talk a lot together about getting this turned around,” Skattebo said. “Not doing it on our own, but getting everybody to buy in. This franchise has been a losing franchise the last couple of years.
“But that’s not who we are right now.”
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Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
