The one downside to the New York Giants‘ offensive explosion Sunday was for Tyrone Tracy fantasy managers — and fans of the second-year running back.
Despite the Giants’ offensive explosion, Tracy finished with just five carries for 15 yards in their 40-37 OT loss to the Dallas Cowboys, ceding much of the backfield duties to rookie Cam Skattebo. But he did take five kickoff returns and ended up as the primary receiving back.
Tracy was expected to break out further after posting 839 rushing yards and 1,123 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns a season ago. But Skattebo out-touched him 13-9 in the game and has more rushing yards than Tracy despite two fewer carries.
The Giants are 0-2 for the seventh time in their past nine seasons.
What Did Brian Daboll Say About Tyrone Tracy?
Daboll was asked straight up if Tracy’s reduced role was a disciplinary measure after criticizing the team’s playcalling a week ago, and he said “no.” Tracy ended up with five kickoff returns for 132 yards, and Daboll said he wanted to see his starting running back get a chance to touch the ball in space.
“Tracy had a number of kickoff return that I thought you give him a break off of there,” Daboll said. “We thought we could get the ball in his hands a few more times. They weren’t kicking it to [Giants return man] Gunner [Olszewski], they were kicking it to Tracy, and he had some good kickoff returns for us.”
Tracy started and had three carries for 11 yards and one reception for 11 on New York’s opening drive before ceding the way to Skattebo almost the rest of the way.
According to Daboll, Skattebo earned the run of play based on his tough running, especially in the second half where he had six carries for 33 yards and a one-yard touchdown — his first NFL score.
“We have three guys who we can use, and if we think one is running pretty good or feeling it we’ll get it to him,” Daboll said, “and if not, we’ll use all three of them. I have confidence in all three of those guys.
“I thought Skat was running good. That could be a week-to-week deal.”
What Did Brian Daboll Say About Jaxson Dart’s Debut?
The Giants announced ahead of Week 1 that they would have a package of plays for rookie Jaxson Dart.
Although they did not put the rookie first-round QB into their opener against the Washington Commanders, Dart did finally get on the field against the Cowboys on Sunday on three short-yardage situations. He rushed once for minus-3 yards and executed a pair of read options to Skattebo that resulted in first downs.
“He helped us in the run game,” Daboll said. “Handed it off to [Skattebo], making a good decision. Pulled the one then slipped and had a three-yard loss; then made another good decision on handing the ball off on a second and short. Had two good plays and slipped on the other one.”
Daboll was asked about what participating in those packages does for Dart as a young QB.
“He’s got a job to do on a certain number of plays,” Daboll said. “We thought we could gain a little bit of an advantage relative to him in the game with a couple of the plays we had, so we put him in.”
Brian Daboll Sends Clear Message on Giants RB Tyrone Tracy