One month and one day after being signed to the Chicago Bears' practice squad after being released by the San Francisco 49ers, Jake Moody played the hero for his new team on Monday night, connecting on a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Monsters of the Midway a 25-24 victory over the Washington Commanders.
Yes, you read that right.
Onions.
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/C5sV76UrjQ
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 14, 2025
What's wild is that Moody was elevated from the practice squad just hours before kickoff, as the Bears were unsure of the status of their regular kicker, Cairo Santos, who was questionable with a right thigh injury but had been listed as a full participant on all three injury reports for Chicago leading into Monday night's matchup.
Santos was ultimately ruled out, and Moody stepped in and gave himself a big confidence boost early on, hitting a 47-yard field goal just a little over four minutes into the game to kick off the scoring and following up with a 48-yarder roughly eight minutes later to give Chicago a 6-0 lead. The Michigan alum then connected on his only extra-point attempt of the night following a Caleb Williams 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Moody then hit a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter before having a 48-yard attempt blocked early in the fourth on a kick that came out very low in the wet conditions at Northwest Stadium. But the former Niner redeemed himself with the game-winner, a kick that not only gave the Bears the victory but also put Moody in the Chicago record books, as he became the first kicker in franchise history to make four field goals in his first game with the team.
It's certainly a great redemption story for Moody, whose tenure in San Francisco came to an ugly end.
A risky third-round pick of the 49ers in the 2023 draft, the two-time Big Ten Kicker of the Year had a solid rookie season, hitting 68 of his 70 extra-point attempts between the regular season and postseason and connecting on 27 of his 33 field goals, all but one of those six misses coming from 40 yards or longer.
His second season didn't go nearly as smoothly, as he missed 10 field goals during the 2024 campaign. And after missing another pair in the 49ers' season-opening victory against the Seattle Seahawks, Moody was cut loose, at which point San Francisco replaced him with former Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro, who's been nearly perfect.
After missing his first extra-point attempt in a Niners uniform in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints, Pineiro hasn't missed a kick of any kind since, going 7-for-7 on extra points and 15-for-15 on field goals.
As for Moody, it'll be interesting to see what his future looks like in the Windy City once Santos is healthy enough to return. The 49ers host the Bears in Week 17.