Saquon Barkley was back at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night, but it was Big Blue’s new young running back who stole the show.
Cam Skattebo had his hands all over things as the Giants pulled off a commanding 34-17 upset victory over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s been fun, it was a good team win,” Skattebo said.
As he’s done throughout his rookie campaign, the Arizona State product brought that hard-nosed tough running style into the primetime division rivalry matchup.
Skattebo finished just two yards shy of topping the 100-mark for the first time.
He also rushed for a trio of touchdowns, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to do so since Charlie Evans back in 1971.
His second score was his most impressive of the night, as he kept his legs churning and muscled his way through Philly LB Zack Baun at the goal line to help the Giants open up a 10-point advantage midway through the third.
It’s that energy that the offense has been feeding off of the past few weeks.
“It feels amazing,” Skattebo said. “Just the coaches being able to trust me in third-and-one, fourth-and-goal, just them being able to trust me when it’s time to hand the ball off and get the ball in the end zone it’s love to them — and shoutout to the o-line, they did a great job.”
Skattebo now has 338 yards and five touchdowns over his first six NFL games.
He and fellow rookie QB Jaxson Dart have done a tremendous job turning the tide around with this franchise, and that was especially evident in this 17-point victory over the defending champs.
Dart was responsible for a pair of touchdowns of his own, one with his legs and one through the air.
Sitting at 2-4 still, though, Skattebo knows there’s more work to be done.
“Winning games is the best feeling in the world,” the youngster said. “When you can do it at a high level and beat them by 17 points, that’s something that we take pride in and we have to continue to build on that, we’re still 2-4.
We still have to go out there and win the next one and win the next one and the one after that, so I’m excited for the future and I can’t wait.”
