Sunday Night Football was set to be a major moment for the New York Giants, with quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Malik Nabers both healthy and ready for the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, but running back Cam Skattebo reportedly added an unexpected twist before kickoff when he found himself stuck outside MetLife Stadium.

According to TMZ Sports, the Giants running back wasn’t exactly first through the doors Sunday evening. Around 5:50 p.m. ET, roughly two and a half hours before the 8:20 p.m. kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys, TMZ obtained a photo of Skattebo hanging out of a souped-up pickup truck outside an entry gate while trying to talk his way inside.

“Let me in! I’m the running back!” Skattebo was heard yelling at security, according to the outlet.

It is the kind of strange pregame story that could easily become a locker-room joke, but it also fits the personality Skattebo has developed since arriving in New York.

The Giants selected Skattebo in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft after his breakout season at Arizona State. His physical running style, toughness, and relentless approach had stood out to NFL scouts, and those traits were a big part of why New York believed he could fit its offense.

His relentless, chip-on-the-shoulder running style had already made him a cult figure among Sun Devils fans. That energy translated immediately once he got to the NFL. Through his first eight games as a rookie, Skattebo racked up 410 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground, adding 207 receiving yards and two more scores through the air.

In Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles, a hip-drop tackle from linebacker Zack Baun left Skattebo with a dislocated ankle, a fractured fibula, and a ruptured deltoid ligament. It was gruesome enough that he was rushed into surgery at a Philadelphia hospital that same night, and head coach Brian Daboll called it a blow the team would clearly miss for the rest of the season.

“All went well,” Daboll said. “He’s recovering. Obviously, he’ll be missed, but on the road to recovery. He’s got a road ahead of him.”

Skattebo’s rehab became its own running storyline over the following months, highlighted by a bizarre cameo on WWE Raw in November while he was still healing. He later explained the appearance was safe because his ankle had already been stabilized with plates and screws by that point. By March, he was crediting a lighter, faster version of himself in typically self-deprecating fashion.

“I can get away from like a baby hippo, maybe,” Skattebo said on The Rich Eisen Show, describing his recovery pace at the time. “That’s about it.”

Once he finally made it inside, Skattebo had one more surprise waiting. He was wearing Jaxson Dart’s throwback jersey from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah.

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The friendship between Dart and Skattebo became part of the Giants’ story almost immediately. Both were drafted in 2025, with Dart going 25th overall and Skattebo arriving in the fourth round at No. 105. They quickly became two of the younger players around whom New York hoped to build its offense. They became Close enough that Dart was visibly shaken watching his teammate being carted off the field back in October.

“I was devastated,” Dart told reporters at the time. “That’s my boy. Seeing him go down and reacting to what happened, it sucks. It’s the worst part of this game.”

For Skattebo, getting back to this point took more work than anyone expected. His ankle injury required surgery and ended a promising rookie campaign. The setback was serious enough that he later admitted he questioned whether he wanted to go through the entire process of returning.

He eventually did. By the summer, Harbaugh was already talking about him as a major part of the offense. “He’s a top-tier back, and he’s planning on playing that way this year,” Harbaugh said in July, praising Skattebo’s downhill running and ability to create yards when a play breaks down.

There was a bigger question hanging over the Giants than their Week 1 matchup. What happens when their three biggest young offensive pieces finally get a real run together? Dart was entering his first full season as the starter, Nabers was looking to reestablish himself after missing most of the previous year, and Skattebo was back after his own frustrating setback.

After a 4-13 season, New York finally had a chance to see what its young core could look like without constantly having to reshuffle it.