Giants bench Cam Skattebo for Najee Harris vs. Saints, but did the bold move work?

UPDATE: At the end of the third quarter, the Giants trailed the Saints 27-10, as fans at MetLife Stadium booed. The Giants’ rushing struggles continued, as they had just 37 yards on 15 carries — against a bad run defense.

Tyrone Tracy had three carries for 8 yards at that point. Devin Singletary had three for 5. Najee Harris had four for 2. Cam Skattebo did not have a single carry or catch through three quarters.

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The Giants entered Sunday’s home game against the Saints needing to fix their rushing offense.

So coach John Harbaugh decided to shake things up.

How did that work out in the first half, with Cam Skattebo benched in favor of Najee Harris to begin the game?

Well, the Giants went into halftime tied at 10 — after blowing a 10-0 lead in the final 1:18 of the half, thanks to a kickoff return fumble by wide receiver Charlie Jones that led to a New Orleans touchdown.

The Giants in the first half got very little from their running backs.

Yes, Tyrone Tracy had a 17-yard touchdown catch.

But he carried just two times for 4 yards. Harris had three carries for zero yards. Skattebo didn’t touch the ball at all. And Devin Singletary had three carries for 5 yards.

All told, the Giants ran 13 times for 31 yards, with a long of 20. And that 20-yarder came from receiver Darnell Mooney.

The Giants generated just 129 yards during the first half, though they out-gained the Saints by 5.

In terms of first-half snaps, Harris got nine, as did Tracy and Singletary. Skattebo got six.

As expected, Harris on Sunday got the start over Skattebo. But all four of the Giants’ running backs — including Singletary and third-down back Tracy — played in the first quarter.

The Giants led 7-0 after their second drive. By that point, three of those backs had a carry, with Skattebo being the exception. And Tracy had the 17-yard catch-and-run touchdown that gave the Giants an early lead.

Skattebo — who still believes he is a No. 1 back — entered the game for the first time during that second Giants possession. He played a key role as a decoy on his first snap — a 20-yard end-around carry by Mooney that moved the Giants to their 43.

Skattebo’s benching Sunday came a week after his overtime fumble cost the Giants a likely win in Washington. They were lucky to escape with a tie, after the Commanders botched the clock.

It was Skattebo’s first lost fumble this season — but officially his fourth fumble overall. Harbaugh made it clear after the game that this could not continue.

Harbaugh signed Harris, who is coming off a torn Achilles tendon, in mid-August. The move made sense, since Harbaugh wanted to — and still wants to — use a run-heavy approach on offense.

But through the season’s first five games, Skattebo and Harris had both produced modest results, as both averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. Skattebo had carried 81 times, Harris 27.

Tracy had worked his way back into a third-down role, after going through early season hiccups. Tracy entered entered Sunday with just seven carries this season — two fewer than Singletary, who had been a healthy scratch.

Singletary on Sunday was active for a change. He hadn’t played since Week 2 in Los Angeles.

As for ball security, Skattebo wasn’t the Giants’ only running back who had problems in that area early this season. (And in reality, he had three fumbles prior to Sunday — not four. Still, that’s less than ideal.)

Tracy came into Sunday with one fumble this season (which he lost). Ditto for Harris — one fumble (which he lost).

Yet ball security was only part of the Giants’ run-production issue.

Coming out of Week 5, they ranked last in the NFL in a key rushing stat: Just 28% of their runs gained at least 2 yards before initial contact. That’s a run-blocking problem.

The Giants’ offensive guard, Jon Runyan and rookie Francis Mauigoa, had been especially ineffective as run blockers during the first five games.

Still, Sunday presented a chance for better results, since the Saints came into the game 29th in Pro Football Focus’ run defense ratings. The Giants, meanwhile, were 26th in rushing offense and 29th in run blocking.

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