The New York Giants dropped their preseason opener this past Saturday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, 13-10, to the Minnesota Vikings. But the outcome could have been very different if head coach John Harbaugh had trusted his kicker a little more.
With 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Giants had the ball on the Minnesota 44. The Giants faced a fourth-and-13 after a nine-play, 60-yard march that began on their own five.
Rather than bring in Dominic Zvada, the team's strong-legged rookie, to attempt a makeable 62-yard field goal, Harbaugh chose to punt. Jordan Stout's punt was fielded for a fair catch on the Minnesota eight-yard line. The Giants, even though they had all three timeouts, never saw the ball again and lost, 13-10.
"Was it 62?
Is that what it would have been? Where was the ball at? What yard line?" Harbaugh asked reporters during his media session on Sunday. He was told it was the 44 yard-line.
"44, was it? I don't know. I can't remember exactly," he said. "No, we thought it was too far into the wind there a little bit. So, that's why."
A successful attempt could have given the Giants a tie instead of a loss. There was no threat of sending the game into overtime since the NFL eliminated overtime for preseason games back in 2021.
So why not give Zvada a shot? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Perhaps Harbaugh's final game as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens last year has him a little gun-shy about kickers. The Ravens lost a "win-and-get-in" game for the AFC North title to the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, 26-24, when kicker Tyler Loop missed a last-second 44-yard field goal attempt.
The Ravens finished 8-9, missed the postseason, and Harbaugh was fired the next day after 18 seasons as head coach.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants' John Harbaugh explains why he passed on 62-yard Dominic Zvada FG
