Giants Stick With Kicker Zvada Despite Recent Struggles

The New York Giants are maintaining confidence in rookie kicker Dominic Zvada, despite a recent stretch of missed field goals. Head coach John Harbaugh stated Monday that the team does not plan to bring in competition for the kicker at this time.

Zvada missed two field goals in the Giants' 27-21 overtime victory against Houston on Sunday, including a 44-yard attempt before halftime and a 56-yard attempt earlier in the game. The team also opted against attempting a 55-yard field goal in the second half. In the overtime period, Zvada's kickoff resulted in a touchback, a repeat of a similar situation in the previous week's game against the Saints.

While Zvada successfully converted all three of his extra-point attempts against Houston, his field goal performance has wavered. After an initial 9-for-9 start to his career, he has since gone 4-for-9 on field goal attempts. The Giants experienced significant instability at the kicking position last year, utilizing five different kickers.

Harbaugh defended Zvada after the game, expressing confidence in the kicker's abilities. "I’m not really worried about Zvada. He just has to do it. But I’m totally confident he will because I know how good he is and know what a good head he has," Harbaugh said.

In other team news, Harbaugh disagreed with an unnecessary roughness penalty called on running back Cam Skattebo in the first quarter for making contact with his helmet. Harbaugh argued that Skattebo's running style, which involves staying low to protect the ball and his body, makes it difficult to avoid such contact. He also indicated he was "day to day" after being tackled by Devin Singletary following Singletary's game-winning touchdown, joking about his own inability to stay upright.