Ball security is an issue for the Giants after fumbling away their chances at Washington

Rallying from down 14 points in the fourth quarter, the New York Giants snatched a stalemate from the jaws of defeat by finishing with a tie at Washington.

But before the Commanders’ late-overtime botched clock management ended the game in bizarre fashion, the Giants had a chance to win themselves. Cam Skattebo fumbled the ball away in field-goal range, extending a troubling trend of turnovers.

Counting Jameis Winston’s strip-sack late in the second quarter, New York has lost four fumbles through five games. Skattebo, fellow running backs Tyrone Tracy and Najee Harris and Winston each have one.

“You just can’t throw your hands up and say, ‘Well, we’re just not good at it,'” coach John Harbaugh said. “We understand that at some point in time, it becomes unacceptable, but we’re not there yet. We’ve got guys that want to do the right thing, and, as a team, as an offense, we have to get to the point where we protect the football.”

Skattebo has fumbled four times on 81 carries. The timing and circumstances of his latest made Skattebo kick himself.

“I’m the player that tries to fight for as many yards as possible for this team,” Skattebo said. “I got to make sure I protect the ball for this football team. We win that game if I do.”

Still, the Giants are 3-1-1 with 1-4 New Orleans, which has lost three in a row, coming to town Sunday. Unexpected losses by Dallas and Philadelphia have them in sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

“It’s a crazy league,” Harbaugh said Monday on a video call with reporters. “My wife, she was visiting my daughter and so I was talking to her after the game and she’s watching games on TV. And she says, ‘The whole NFL is like crazy town right now.’ It’s crazy town. It’s like, there’s so much crazy going on in this league right now. That’s what makes it so exciting, I guess. And we were right in the middle of it.”

What’s working

Winston is now 3-0 as the starter, winning each game a different way. This time, after completing seven of 16 passes for 72 yards and getting sacked twice in the first half, he was 26 of 38 for 254 and three touchdowns the rest of the way.

“When your back is against the wall, you have to depend on your playmakers,” Winston said. “I think we did a good job of doing that: getting the guys the football and mixing (it) up on them, and kind of just threw them off schedule.”

What needs help

The running game still needs to get going. New York had just 103 yards on the ground at Washington and has yet to surpass 170 in a game this season.

J.J. McCarthy was on the field for five snaps. Perhaps offensive coordinator Matt Nagy will be able to get creative in using McCarthy — who is much more mobile than Winston — as a change of pace.

Stock up

Bryan Hudson is set to make a third consecutive start at center against the Saints. Getting the nod over John Michael Schmitz in Week 4 versus Arizona was a surprise, but now it seems to be Hudson’s job.

“He played well,” Harbaugh said. “He played well in the game the week before, and he played well in this past game. (There are) things he can do better but (also) things he did really well, and that’s what we based it on.”

Stock down

Rookie kicker Dominic Zvada missed three of his five field-goal attempts in rainy conditions Sunday after being 9 of 9 through his first four NFL games. His inaccuracy also affected the play-calling in OT and the decision to have Skattebo run rather than kneeling and trusting Zvada.

Injuries

Harbaugh called right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), rookie cornerback Colton Hood (concussion) and safety Tyler Nubin (neck) day to day. Asked if cornerback Paulson Adebo’s practice window to return from injured reserve would open this week, Harbaugh said only, “We’ll see.”

Key number

230 — Losses in 230 games by the Giants since 1970 when trailing by 14 or more points in the final eight minutes of regulation, until Sunday. They are now 0-230-1 in those situations.

Next steps

Players who have taken issue with oddsmakers making the Giants underdogs can again use that as motivation. The Saints opened as 2 1/2-point road favorites.

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