The Giants kicking woes, thought to be behind them, arose again in Thursday night’s 24-21 loss to the Commanders at MetLife Stadium.
In a low-scoring first half, Giants rookie kicker Dominic Zvada pulled a 33-yard field goal attempt wide left with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter to end the Giants’ second offensive possession.
So in a game decided by three points, Zvada’s kick was the difference points-wise.
“I can’t miss those, it’s inexcusable,’’ Zvada said.
It’s been a weird, inconsistent season for Zvada, who went 4-of-9 on field goals over a three-game stretch. That included three misses in a Week 5 tie against the Commanders and two misses in Week 7 against the Texans.
After the Houston game, the Giants entered their bye week and there was speculation that head coach John Harbaugh might bring in other kickers. But he didn’t, deciding to stand by Zvada.
The rookie kicker then went 4-for-4 on field goals (including a 53-yarder) in windy conditions Sunday at Philadelphia in a 19-11 Giants win.
After the game, Harbaugh said, “I feel confident’’ in Zvada.
“You can’t start firing people left and right as soon as a guy doesn’t make a play — especially kickers, or rookies,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not going to panic halfway through the season with a guy who’s made a bunch of kicks. I’m just not going to knee-jerk it like that.
“He’s going to make kicks, and he’s going to make a lot of kicks. I believe in him. I think he’s really good, really talented. We’re going to give him an opportunity to do it, and it’s up to him to do it.’’
The Giants won a replay challenge in the first half on a bizarre deflected pass play by the Commanders. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a pass to WR Stefon Diggs that was broken up by Giants CB Deonte Banks. The ball deflected off Diggs’ helmet and into the arms of WR Treylon Burks.
Harbaugh immediately threw the challenge flag, arguing that Burks never completed control of the catch, and won. That forced Washington to kick a field goal.
In a weird scene at the start of the second quarter, Giants RB Cam Skattebo threw up near the bench on the sideline, but moments later was seen laughing about it. He didn’t miss any plays. Skattebo later revealed that he ate a hot dog and a pretzel before the game.
Giants backup QB Jameis Winston continued his prowess in short-yardage situations. He kept a scoring drive alive in the second quarter with a 1-yard QB sneak. And, at the end of the drive, on first-and-goal from the Washington 1-yard line, he came in and handed off to Skattebo for a TD run.
But Winston was stopped on a critical third-and-1 sneak late in the game deep in Giants territory, forcing the Giants to punt.
Among the Giants inactives for the game was cornerback Paulson Adebo, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Colton Hood, who’s dealing with a dislocated finger, was on the game-day roster over Adebo.
The other Giants inactives included CB Nikko Reed, LB Malik Harrison, TE Thomas Fidone II, DL C.J. Okoye and OLs Josh Sills and J.C. Davis.
Washington’s inactives included CB Isaac Yiadom, DT Ricky Barber, G Tanoa Togai, C Lucas Patrick and TE Colson Yankoff.
