Skattebo, Harbaugh object to lowering helmet penalty: Maybe league can 'enlighten us'

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  Jordan RaananOct 26, 2026, 06:46 PM ET

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  Jordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants might have won and played their most complete game Sunday against the Houston Texans, but running back Cam Skattebo and coach John Harbaugh aren't happy with the way one play was officiated.

Harbaugh and Skattebo disagreed with a penalty call in the first quarter when Skattebo was flagged for a personal foul -- unnecessary roughness -- for impermissible helmet contact.

Skattebo was penalized for lowering his head into a defender on the first-quarter run that originally went for a 7-yard gain. It sent Houston safety M.J. Stewart flying to the ground when the two collided and left Skattebo and Harbaugh visibly upset with the call.

Skattebo still wasn't happy after the Giants' 27-21 overtime victory, in which he had his first 100-yard rushing game. He finished with a career-high 124 yards on 17 carries.

"The NFL loves to post me [on social media] when I do stuff like that, but also wants to take stuff from me," Skattebo said Sunday. "I'm going to run the ball like I want to run the ball. And if I'm going to continue to get flagged for it or fined for it, I guess I'm going to play for free. I'm going to do what I can to be on this team and give everything I got. If they're going to punish me for that, then I'm just going to keep doing it and playing hard."

This wasn't the first time Skattebo has been called out for the infraction. He was fined $7,073 earlier this month for "illegal helmet contact on a running play."

"I'm quite sure [Skattebo's] not trying to use his helmet as a weapon, as a battering ram. It's not the way he's thinking. He's leading with his shoulder. That's what he's trying to do. ... So, I didn't have a problem with the technique personally at all, but we haven't heard from the league. Maybe they'll be able to enlighten us a little bit on it in terms of what they want us to teach, and that would be great." Giants coach John Harbaugh

Harbaugh was shown on the game's television broadcast vehemently objecting to the call, and was in the linesman's ear for a while after the play.

"That's how I felt about it," Harbaugh said Monday. "You can't run in there and give tacklers your chest. When you run low, your head's down there, too. You can't move your head off your shoulders. It's a physical impossibility."

The NFL has made it a point to deemphasize offensive players using their helmets as weapons. It's still rare that the infraction involves a penalty flag.

It caught Harbaugh by surprise.

"It did," he said. "It certainly did, yes."

Skattebo, the second-year running back out of Arizona State, is known for his physical style of play. He often seeks out the contact.

But Harbaugh didn't seem to think there was any kind of intent to do so with his helmet.

"I'm quite sure [Skattebo is] not trying to use his helmet as a weapon, as a battering ram. It's not the way he's thinking," Harbaugh said. "He's leading with his shoulder. That's what he's trying to do. ... So, I didn't have a problem with the technique personally at all, but we haven't heard from the league. Maybe they'll be able to enlighten us a little bit on it in terms of what they want us to teach, and that would be great."

The controversy comes one week after Skattebo saw his role greatly reduced in a loss to the New Orleans Saints. He viewed it as punishment for several costly fumbles, including late in a tie against the Washington Commanders.

Skattebo was returning after playing just six snaps against the Saints. He did not have a carry in that contest.

The lightning rod running back was intent on bouncing back after being reinstated as the lead back and starter Sunday against the Texans.