Giants' Cam Skattebo Facing the Biggest Moment of His Career

The New York Giants are facing the Washington Commanders on Thursday night, and they have a grand opportunity to all but wrap up the NFC East with a win here and a Dallas Cowboys loss to the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday.

The Giants are at home against the Commanders this time around after tying them in Washington last month, and Cam Skattebo will be back on the field after missing last week's victory over the Philadelphia Eagles due to a hamstring injury.

Skattebo is also facing the most pivotal moment of his career.

It was Skattebo who cost New York a win in the nation's capital back in Week 5, when he inexplicably fumbled away a game-winning drive in overtime. It marked Skattebo's fourth fumble in five games.

He was consequently benched against the New Orleans Saints the following weekend and then bounced back with the best performance of his young NFL tenure in a Week 7 win over the Houston Texans, racking up 124 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Now, Skattebo has a chance for some redemption versus the Commanders, and he also has a chance to prove to the Giants that he can be their featured running back.

New York feverishly tried to land a halfback at the NFL trade deadline, aggressively pursuing Indianapolis Colts star Jonathan Taylor and even placing a call to the Atlanta Falcons concerning Bijan Robinson.

No deals were made, and the Giants will have to ride it out with Skattebo the rest of the way. But you definitely get the feeling that New York does not view him as a legitimate RB1 moving forward. And you can't really blame John Harbaugh for it.

There is no question Skattebo is a talented playmaker and can absolutely establish himself as a key component of the offense, but the Giants clearly perceive him to be more of a complementary piece rather than a bell cow.

Skattebo is out to show he can be the latter, and with the Commanders now without defensive tackle Daron Payne for the rest of the year, he has an opportunity to put a major dent in that Washington defense Thursday night ... while also making Harbaugh and Co. think twice about the future of their backfield.

New York released Najee Harris after Week 6. Tyrone Tracy is on injured reserve. Devin Singletary carried the ball 21 times for 31 yards last week. It's obvious that Skattebo is the Giants' best solution at the position, but he still must prove that he can be the solution for the long haul.

Skattebo will not only have the chance to help the Giants put an early bow on the NFC East here in Week 10, but he'll also have the opportunity to kick off a potential career-deciding stretch with a bang.