Overcoming the loss of Skattebo

The defeat to the Eagles was overshadowed by the loss of running back Cam Skattebo, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury on a tackle by Eagles linebacker Zach Baun in the first half of Sunday’s game. Through eight weeks, the first-year back leads all rookies in total yards from scrimmage (617) and total touchdowns (seven). His rookie season has been cut short, though, as both the Giants’ offense and the locker room overall will take a hit without the fiery, young back.

“For a guy that has come in and, say, sparked us with a lot of energy and toughness, but the personality that he has as well,” Daboll said about Skattebo’s impact on the team. “But it’s like all your other players that you’re close with. These guys spend a lot of time together, meeting time, outside the building. And that’s always a tough element to this game is when guys go down and get hurt. You hate to see it. Unfortunately, it’s part of the business.”

With Skattebo done for the season, the backfield will turn back to Tyrone Tracy Jr. The second-year back suffered a shoulder injury in Week 3, which paved the way for Skattebo to take over as the lead back. In six games (two starts) this season, the 25-year-old has gained 159 yards on 45 carries with 10 receptions for 68 yards and one total touchdown. It was only last season that Tracy accumulated 1,123 total yards from scrimmage with six touchdowns as a rookie fifth-round pick, though. Facing an expanded opportunity for the rest of the season, Tracy is eager to show everyone he is still that same back.

“Tracy is a really good football player,” Van Roten said earlier this week. “He kind of got sidelined with an injury earlier in the season, so we’re just excited for him to get back to form and kind of build on what he did last year, because I think he’s a better player this year than he was last year. He was a rookie last year, now he’s a second-year guy. He’s seen a lot of stuff. He’s getting more comfortable in his role. It’ll be good for him to get back out there. I think he’s anxious to kind of show, like, he’s still a good running back.”

Dart continuing to develop

While it hasn’t been perfect, it’s been an impressive start to the career of Jaxson Dart. Through five starts, the rookie quarterback has completed around 60 percent of his passes for 984 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 90.8. He’s also proven to be a threat on the ground with 195 yards and an additional four touchdowns rushing. With his performance against the Eagles, Dart became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era with eight or more pass touchdowns, four or more rush touchdowns and less than 5 turnovers in his first five career starts.

“Jaxson has done a good, really good job his first five games in a lot of areas,” coach Brian Daboll told the media Monday. “He’s a good football player for us and we’ll do the things we think that he can do well. And I think he’s had a good start to his first five games. Obviously, like a few more wins, but he’s done a nice job for us.”

The Giants were outgained 427 to 246 against the Eagles, with the Eagles picking up 23 first downs compared to the Giants’ 13. We’ll get into their playmakers in a minute, but the 49ers have a lot of talented skilled position players, not to mention they could be getting starting quarterback Brock Purdy back this week. The best way to keep Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and co. off the field is to sustain long drives, which will require everyone on the offense to play better than they did against the Eagles.

“We have to start figuring out ways to win because I do, I hate it, and I’m not used to it and I’m not just going to accept it,” Dart said after the loss. “I’m not going to be okay with it and we as a team can’t be okay with it. We have to figure this out.”