Fowler: Najee Harris is ‘set to start’ in Week 6

Harris started the game for the Giants after it was reported Cam Skatteboo would be downgraded after his fumble issues. Fantasy managers that picked up Harris to start or stash will be immensely disappointed to see four carries and 11 snaps on the day. A pass-heavy game script played a role in that, but he totaled just two yards and has been a largely ineffective runner this season. Harris can remain off fantasy rosters heading into Week 7 against the Texans.

Before the game, it was widely reported that the Giants would start Najee Harris with Skattebo dealing with fumbling issues to start the season. This was indeed the case as Skattebo saw zero touches and just six snaps on the day, last among all four Giants running backs. After the game, head coach John Harbaugh insisted the team did not bench Skattebo, but it’s hard to see this as anything else. Fantasy managers will be hoping Skattebo will be out of the dog house after no Giants running backs surpassed 20 yards rushing against a poor Saints run defense. He is cautiously in the RB3 ranks until further notice.

Giants beat writer Dan Duggan chimed in with “I would be very surprised if [Cam] Skattebo has the same RB1 workload on Sunday that he’s had in the first five games.” Skattebo has put the ball on the ground four times in the first five games. Najee Harris has one in 27 carries and Tyrone Tracy has added two. It sounds like Harris may start to be a significant thorn in the side of Skattebo-reliant managers.

Skattebo rushed for just 12 yards on six carries in the first half as he and the Giants struggled on the ground for most of the day. He would come up with a few big runs in the second half, one of which resulted in a 19-yard gain in overtime as the Giants were attempting to drive into position for a game-winning field goal. Unfortunately for Skattebo, disaster struck later on the drive when he lost a fumble on the Commanders’ 24-yard line, which was recovered by Washington and ended any hopes of a Giants’ victory. Poor late-game clock management by the Commanders made Skattebo’s fumble a little less costly, as the two sides would end Sunday’s game in a tie, but it’s impossible to overstate how big a 4-1 start to the season would be for the Giants, who are playing in a struggling NFC East. Skattebo hasn’t rushed for more than 81 yards in any game this season and has only one touchdown to his name. His reliable volume continues to put him in fringe RB1/RB2 territory, but it’s been a disappointing start for the second-year back. He’ll look to turn things around next week against the Saints.

Skattebo was cleared from the injury report on Friday, so he was never going to miss this game. The good news is that the Giants don’t have any plans to limit his workload. Playing in a rain-soaked matchup with the NFC East rival Commanders, Skattebo is expected to see “an extremely heavy workload”, according to Garafolo.

Skattebo was limited in Wednesday and Thursday’s practices but will be good to go in what he called a “slogfest” on Sunday against the Commanders. With rain and wind forecast for Sunday’s game, the Giants will likely lean heavily on Skattebo, who has rushed for 68-235-1 this season while averaging a subpar 3.5 YPC. Skattebo profiles as a volume-based RB2 against a defense that has been stout against the run out of the gate.

Skattebo was limited for the second day in a row, but he at least ditched his red non-contact jersey. The Giants’ lead running back should be good to go for Week 5 against the Commanders. He sits on the RB1/2 border once again.

Skattebo was participating in a red non-contact jersey today. His limited participation puts him on track to play in Week 5 against the Commanders, but this is obviously worth tracking. The Giants’ starting running back has handled reliably larger workloads this season. Hopefully, he is feeling up to the task again on Sunday.

Harris was playing Cam Skattebo to a usage standstill before his fourth quarter giveaway in a game where the G-Men were clinging to a 27-24 lead. He never touched the ball afterwards, going over 11 minutes without a handle as Skattebo saw seven touches during that timespan. That’s what a fumble benching looks like. Coach John Harbaugh will likely forgive and forget going into Week 5 against the Commanders, but not to the degree a timeshare starts developing. This might have been Harris’ one shot in that regard. Even with injuries mounting and bye weeks beginning, Harris is a tough stash in 12-team leagues.

With the G-Men and Cardinals trading sacks and turnovers in a sloppy but close contest, Skattebo seemed to be in a 50-50 committee with Najee Harris. That is until Harris got “Peanut punched” at the 11:14 mark of the fourth quarter, losing a fumble. Harris was never heard from again as Skattebo received seven touches from that point forward. The G-Men are understandably hunting for some sort of alternative or caddie for their unexplosive, default lead back in Skattebo, but unsurprisingly, Harris is not going to be the answer in that regard. Skattebo will keep hanging around the low-end RB2 ranks heading into Week 5 against the Commanders.