New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh has no plans to abandon rookie kicker Dominic Zvada after another rough night against the Washington Commanders, which contributed heavily to a 24-21 loss at MetLife Stadium.
Zvada pulled a 33-yard field goal wide left in the first quarter, keeping the game scoreless early. In a contest decided by three points, that chip-shot miss carried weight.
Later, after Isaiah Likely’s 66-yard touchdown gave the Giants a 21-17 lead with 8:13 remaining, Zvada’s ensuing kickoff went out of bounds. The penalty spotted the ball at the Commanders’ 40-yard line and gave Washington favorable field position on the drive that ultimately produced the winning score.
It marked the second difficult performance against Washington
this season. In the Week 5 tie at Northwest Stadium, Zvada went 2-for-5 on field goals, including an overtime miss that could have ended the game. He is now 17-for-23 on field goals for the season with six misses, placing him among the NFL’s leaders in that category after a strong start that included nine consecutive makes.
Asked afterward about confidence in his kicker, Harbaugh offered a measured defense of the undrafted free agent from Michigan.
“Yeah, we’re confident,” Harbaugh told reporters. “You can’t, as soon as a guy doesn’t make a play, start firing people left and right. Especially your kicker who’s a rookie. So, I’m confident he’s going to become a good kicker. I mean, at some point in time, if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But I’m not going to panic halfway through the season when a guy’s made a bunch of kicks.”
Harbaugh added that the Giants will not make a reactive change.
“We’re just not going to knee-jerk it like that,” he said. “He’s going to make kicks. He’s going to make a lot of kicks. I believe in him. I think he’s really good and really talented. We’re going to give him an opportunity to do it, and it’s up to him to do it.”
The Giants still lead the NFC East at 5-3-1, but Thursday’s result prevented them from creating further separation.
Zvada converted all three of his extra-point attempts and was perfect on four field goals the previous week in Philadelphia, yet the early miss and late kickoff penalty left points and field position on the table in a divisional loss.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: John Harbaugh stands by Dominic Zvada after rookie costs Giants another game
