If it feels like I’m fixated on New York Giants kicker Dominic Zvada and his quest to unseat Ali Haji-Sheikh as the franchise’s single-season rookie scoring leader and Jay Feely as the all-time single-season scoring leader, it’s because I am. I guess you could say I can’t kick the habit. Ha, puns.
Fortunately, the 22-year-old keeps giving us reasons to check back in. Zvada was automatic (hence the Zvada-matic nickname) again in Sunday’s 36-24 Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals, making all three of his field-goal attempts and his lone extra-point try to add another 10 points to his season total.
Four games into his NFL career, the undrafted rookie still hasn’t missed a single kick. He’s 9-for-9 on field goals, 5-for-5 on extra points, and has already made three from 50-plus yards. After watching the G-Men cycle through a million kickers last season, it feels a little unfair that head coach John Harbaugh found Zvada immediately upon arriving in North Jersey. But I'm not complaining.
Dominic Zvada’s chase for Giants scoring history is getting interesting
Here’s where Zvada stands after another perfect afternoon:
Kicker | Season | Points through Week 4 | FGs through Week 4 | XPs through Week 4 | Final points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jay Feely | 2005 | 40 | 8 | 16 | 148 |
Ali Haji-Sheikh | 1983 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 127 |
Dominic Zvada | 2026 | 32 | 9 | 5 | 136 pace |
Zvada's pace sits eight points behind Feely through the first four games, but he’s already six points ahead of Haji-Sheikh and has made more field goals than either kicker had at this point in their respective record-setting seasons.
Sunday wasn’t exactly a bunch of chip shots, either. Zvada connected from 39, 50, and 52 yards, with the last one coming late in the fourth quarter to stretch a three-point Giants lead to six.
He technically had three points taken away from him, too. The 22-year-old smashed a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter, only for an Arizona defensive holding penalty to make the kick disappear from existence and give New York a fresh set of downs.
Big Blue turned the unforced error into a Theo Johnson touchdown instead, but it’s worth noting that Zvada basically went 4-for-4 without getting credit for one of them. Imagine those three points being the difference come Week 17. Saving this for later.
Zvada sure sounds like someone who’s enjoying life under a head coach with a pretty well-documented appreciation for special teams: “To be able to play for Coach Harbaugh is an absolute dream,” Zvada said Tuesday. “Excited to keep rolling with him.”
The feeling is probably mutual. Harbaugh has only used nine kickers since entering the NFL as the Eagles’ special teams coordinator in 1998. New York has somehow burned through seven over the past three years alone. There's levels to tha millis.
Zvada still has 13 games to go before anything gets set in stone, but the pace is there.
Zvada-matic is officially six points ahead of Haji-Sheikh’s rookie-record pace and only 12 behind Feely’s all-time pace through four games. Not too shabby for an undrafted rookie. Some people are calling for the NFL to introduce a Special Teams Rookie of the Year award, and I think I know who its first recipient should be.
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