New York Giants kicker Dominic Zvada has enjoyed the kind of success few rookies achieve.
In New York’s first four games, Zvada connected on all nine field goal attempts and went 5-for-5 on extra points. One might say that he was Big Blue’s version of “Mr. Perfect.”
Unfortunately, Zvada’s flawless streak ended in the Giants’ Week 5, 27-27 tie with the Washington Commanders.
While the Michigan product did make two field goals (from 51 and 56 yards, respectively) and went 3-for-3 on extra-point tries, he missed three from 50 yards (first quarter), 57 yards (second quarter) and 46 yards (overtime). The last of those would have given the Giants a 30-27 lead.
As a result, Zvada will need to fight through adversity for the first time in his brief NFL career.
Fortunately for both the Giants and their rookie kicker, assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Chris Horton believes that the 22-year-old is well-equipped to meet the challenge.
“We believe in him, we trust him, and we have confidence in him,” Horton told reporters earlier this week.
“It was a great learning experience. Just a couple of little small, little technique things that we’re going to work on to make sure that we get cleaned up.”
Head coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday that the issue stemmed from Zvada’s plant leg.
In five games this season, Zvada has gone 8-for-8 on extra points and 11-for-14 on field goal attempts. Including his nine-point game against Washington, Zvada now leads all rookies in points scored with 41, the fourth-most by a Giant in franchise history through the first five games of his career.
Additionally, Zvada’s 56-yarder in the third quarter of New York’s Week 5 tie moved him into a tie with former Giant Ali Haji-Sheikh (in 1983) for the longest made field goal by a rookie in team history.
And Zvada, despite the misses, is currently tied with three other kickers for the most field goals made from 50+ yards, with five.
Based on that résumé alone, Horton’s faith in his young kicker is seemingly well-deserved.
Yet the Giants assistant head coach is further encouraged by Zvada’s resolve to improve, and he makes a point of encouraging the rookie along the way.
“From a confidence standpoint, you just have to remind him that he is damn good,” Horton said.
“That’s one of the things I think: when you believe in your players again, and you remind them that they’re here for a reason and you trust in them. You’ve just got to remind them of those things. From a confidence standpoint, that’s solely on him and him understanding that I can go out there and I can do this.”
For Zvada, the ensuing days will be about refining his fundamentals. Both Horton and Harbaugh have vowed to work with the rookie on his plant placement and other fixable mechanics, issues he struggled with in Week 5.
Zvada’s first miss (a 50-yard attempt in the first quarter) was attributed to a high snap, which disrupted his timing. On his overtime misfire, Zvada’s plant leg (left) appeared to slip after it was extended. The result was a wide kick to the left.
Having identified Zvada’s recent struggles as “fixable,” Horton is willing to give the undrafted rookie the benefit of the doubt, based on his body of work.
“We judge by consistency,” Horton explained. “This kid was nine-for-nine before he came into this game. He missed three field goals. Yeah, it’s not our standard. It’s not where we want to be, but we do understand that this guy will make kicks. You watch all these kicks from across the league; these things are happening with big-time players. It happens.
“Sometimes we go back to, ‘Hey, why did this happen?’” he revealed. “And it’s foot-to-ball, foot-to-ball. All these things have to be consistent for us to get consistent results where the ball’s going in between the uprights.”
Zvada and the Giants will look to get back on track during their Week 6 matchup with the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
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