Cam Skattebo Says He Was 'Punished' for Fumbles, Giants' John Harbaugh Explains RB's 0 Carries

After his recent struggles to hold onto the football, Cam Skattebo saw his production take a major hit against the New Orleans Saints.

The New York Giants running back had no carries in the loss and said he was "punished" for his mistake from last week.

Head coach John Harbaugh had a different perspective, saying Skattebo's lack of playing time wasn't a benching.

"It was not by design," Harbaugh said. "I mean, all those guys were taking equal reps in the first half. We were trying to see who could make something happen, who could kinda get a hot hand and earn it. Nobody's really taking the bull by the horns... It wasn't by design for him not to carry the ball. It was just, when he was in there, we didn't call any runs."

Skattebo has had a decent start to his second NFL season, but fumbles have been a persistent issue. He's fumbled four times through the first six games, including a costly one last week.

The Giants were in overtime with the Washington Commanders and had the ball in field goal range when Skattebo fumbled and cost New York a chance to win the game. The game instead ended in a tie.

While Skattebo didn't see any action on Sunday, the Giants didn't turn to the run game much in the loss. Tyrone Tracy Jr. led the way with six carries and Devin Singletary and Najee Harris each had just one as well.

New York had just 84 total rushing yards on 20 carries in the game.

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Harbaugh added that Skattebo's six snaps were a result of splitting reps between so many players, and he said he's hoping someone will assert themselves as the true RB1.

"You're balancing it between four guys," Harbaugh told reporters. "Do the math: how many plays were there? That was our plan. You can argue that, you can say, 'Well, I don't like that. I don't like you dividing up the snaps between four backs.' Hey, I don't like it either. One of those guys needs to step up. Somebody needs to step up and be the back. None of those guys have done that yet. And when one of those guys steps up to be the back, then they'll be the back. There's your answer."

The Giants' run game has been a flawed area to start the season, and clearly Harbaugh is searching for answers after dropping to 3-2-1.