Giants QB Jaxson Dart Shared Reaction to RB Cam Skattebo’s Injury

“Yeah, I was devastated,” Dart said after the Giants were routed by the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 in Philadelphia. “It's my boy, man, so seeing him go down and obviously reacting to what happened, that sucks. It's the worst part of this game.”

Dart wouldn't share what he said to Skattebo as the running back was being loaded onto the back of a cart to be taken back to the locker room. But he did admit that the sight was difficult. 

“I mean, during him getting carted off, it's emotional,” he said. “But you try to go back in the huddle and try to just reload and just try to go down and score.”

Skattebo and Dart have breathed new energy into the Giants' franchise this season with their youthful exuberance and playmaking ability, energy that was needed after the team lost wide receiver Malik Nabers earlier this year to an ACL injury.

The loss of Skattebo, who was taken to a local hospital for further examination and evaluation, is the latest in a series of crushing blows to a Giants team that had hoped to stay pace within the NFC East division.

Instead, New York fell to 2-6 on the year, their season likely done yet again before Halloween, given the hole they’ve created for themselves. This week’s debacle was a total team loss across the board.  

Dart, however, didn’t want to blame the injuries for the Giants’ latest round of hard times.

“I try not to think of it like that. Just know I got to keep making plays and do my job to put our team in the best situation,” he said. 

“Obviously, it's not ideal, it stings, and there's more people in the rotation, but I got to be better, too, making more plays and putting us in a good situation to win.”

That wasn’t the case, though it’s not all on Dart, who was sacked five times this week, some of those sacks being on him for holding the ball way too long. The Giants' receivers caught 50% of their contested catch opportunities and posted two drops, all of which didn’t help.

The defense couldn’t stop the run, giving up a season-high 276 yards on the ground, including 150 to old friend Saquon Barkley and 104 to Tank Bigsby.

Even special teams, which had been so good this season, had a hand in the debacle, allowing the Eagles to beat them in the starting field-position battle on kickoffs: the Eagles started their drives on their 38, and the Giants on their own 32. 

“They did a really good job,” Dart said. “They kind of changed it up on us from what they did in game one, and they played sound. 

“I thought that they had a good plan for us coming into the game offensively and defensively. You definitely have to give them credit for their plan.”

The Eagles also managed to limit Dart to just 17 yards rushing on six carries.

“I just think that's just kind of what the plan is for most teams going forward. The Broncos did it, too,” he said. “So yeah, they stayed disciplined in their gaps, and I just thought that they played a good game.”

Despite the struggles the Eagles presented, Dart said he was determined to push forward. 

“I'm not ever going to quit. I don't care what the situation is, he said. “If I'm on that field, I'm playing as hard as I can. I'm going to try to lead as well as I can. I have the same expectation every time we go out on the field and try to preach that to the guys, so when we step through the lines, we should be competing and playing as hard as we can every time.”

But at some point, he added, it would be nice to have something to show for the effort at the end of the day. 

“We have to start figuring out ways to win becauseI hate it, and I'm not used to it, and I'm not just going to accept it,” he said. 

“I'm not going to be okay with it, and we as a team can't be either. We have to figure this out.”