The Giants didn’t win Sunday, but running back Cam Skattebo still breathed “a sigh of relief” when time expired in overtime against the Commanders in Washington.
Skattebo fumbled with the Giants in field goal range on the first play after the two-minute warning when Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne punched the ball out of reach and Washington moved into position for its own kick as time expired. They never got a chance to kick because they did the strange decision to run a play with 12 seconds left and time ran out before they could line up to throw the ball after a Jayden Daniels run.
Skattebo called the sequence “crazy,” while noting that it would reduce the amount of criticism he receives for a piece he would like to return to.
“I missed the ball. We can’t have that,” Skattebo said, via a team transcript. “I understand that. I’m going to go in the film room and get it fixed. I felt like I had good protection on it. The kid made a heck of a play. I think in this situation, what I think I could do differently is try not to gain any extra yards because we’re already in a good position and continue to take care of the ball. If I’m tackled for a loss of one yard, then I’m tackled for a loss of one yard. I’m the player that tries to fight for so many meters.
There was still one kick to go and Dominic Zvada missed three field goals on Sunday, including one earlier in overtime, but it’s easy to see why Skattebo would put the result on his shoulders. Thanks to Daniels and Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, he won’t have to deal with as much heartbreak from anyone else.
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