It takes two to tango. Sunday in Landover, it took two to gaffe.
Before Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels botched the game-winning sequence in unholy fashion, the New York Giants had the first flub in an eventual 27-27 tie.
After each team had an overtime possession, the Giants drove down to the Washington 24-yard line. In field goal range to win the tilt at the 2-minute warning, Big Blue back Cam Skatteboplunged into the middle of the defense. The RB had the ball punched out and turned it over.
With rookie kicker Dominic Zvada already missing three boots, John Harbaugh was trying to get as close as possible before taking their shot at the game-winner.
“Run it twice, and then run it down, get as close as we could, protect the football, which we talked about numerous times. And then run it down and take the knee [before kicking],” Harbaugh said, via NJ.com. “So in case he doesn’t make the field goal, there’s no time for them to come back and get a field goal. That’s the strategy. That’s the strategy we decided on early in training camp, and that’s the strategy we’ll probably do next time, too.”
The strategy is sound, particularly with Zvada’s struggles on Sunday. But Skattebo, who fumbled for the fourth time this season (first loss), couldn’t hang on to the pigskin.
“Skatt played a hell of a game, but he’s going to have to learn from that — what type of running is called for in that situation. We practice that very situation plenty of times,” he said.
Skattebo didn’t sugarcoat his role in creating a tie that almost turned into a Giants loss.
“At the end of the day, I f---ed up,” he said. “I’m going to put that on me. We’ll get better from that, and we’ll come out with the win next time.”
Luckily for Skattebo, the Commanders’ collective brain cramp at the other end of the field a few moments later took most of the spotlight off his error. Otherwise, Monday morning football discourse would include a lot more talk about the Big Blue running back.
“It was a sigh of relief,” Skattebo said. “I probably won’t get reamed as much, but I’m still going to get reamed.”
An epic 14-point comeback win was within reach, but New York will settle for a tie and a 3-1-1 record that keeps them atop the NFC East.