Sunday was frustrating for San Francisco 49ers rookie kicker Jake Moody, who missed two field goal attempts in the 49ers' 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Either could have elevated the 49ers to a win, but the kicker fell short in the crucial moments.
The one that hurt the most came with nine seconds left in the game.
Brock Purdy, who had struggled most of the game, orchestrated an impressive drive in the final minutes of play. The second-year quarterback got the 49ers into field goal range, setting the stage for Moody to be the hero. The kicker missed the 41-yard attempt, watching the football sail wide right and ending San Francisco's 15-game regular-season winning streak.
In the game's aftermath, the 49ers locker room rallied around Moody, acknowledging that the team could have done more to share the burden of securing a victory. The blame for the defeat doesn't fall solely on the first-year player's shoulders.
"For a guy that just got here, having all my teammates tell me to keep my head up, come give me a high five, pat on the back, that was pretty cool," a disappointed Moody said after the game. "So I really appreciate all that, especially them putting their trust in me to make a kick and just not execute. But having everybody have my back, even for a guy that just got here, that was pretty cool."
Speaking to reporters via a conference call on Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked if there was any common thread between the two missed kicks. Did the rookie kicker misread anything in his attempts?
"No, I mean, I talked to [special teams coordinator Brian Schneider] on the plane, and he didn't mention anything like that," Shanahan responded. "The first one was a tough one. I mean, we need to get him in a better situation and have a closer field goal than the first one. I'm glad that we're able to attempt that from that far, but if you're real mad at him for always missing that far of one, you're going to be disappointed at times."
"But the last one was the toughest one; just missed it a little bit there to the right. It was a good experience for him. We'll see how he bounces back from it."
Moody's teammates remain confident in him. They believe that with experience, the young kicker will continue to grow. Moody had been perfect in his nine previous attempts leading to Sunday's game.
"He's a young player," linebacker Fred Warner said. "He's a rookie, and he's going to have so many other opportunities to help us win games. And so ... I would never put that on him, to say that we lost this game because of him."
