After suffering a very narrow and heartbreaking defeat in Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers were tortured throughout last season. They dealt with a gnarly rash of injuries that resulted in a 6-11 finish and left them watching the NFL playoffs at home.
Some feel they're poised to bounce back this season and become competitive again. But for that to happen, a number of their young players will have to step up.
One of those young players who are under pressure to do better is kicker Jake Moody. He was solid as a rookie in 2023, although he missed a key extra point attempt in that Super Bowl loss, but last season, he took Niners Faithful through a stressful rollercoaster.
He was very inconsistent on field goal attempts of at least 40 yards, and fans were calling for him to be benched and replaced. But in last weekend's preseason game versus the Las Vegas Raiders, he showed a bit of promise.
In the second quarter, he missed a 53-yard attempt, and San Francisco fans were likely thinking to themselves, "Here we go again." But he made all of his other five attempts, including a 59-yarder with no time left that gave the team a 22-19 victory.
While it was only a preseason game, it was a performance that had to have helped the 25-year-old's confidence. Niners special teams coach Brian Boyer said it could be a turning point.
"I mean, it could change his career," said Boyer, per Sports Illustrated. "It's one of those kicks where, what I really liked about his response from the 52-yard miss, I believe. He showed a lot of character in that moment where he came back and hit two clutch ones. The one to tie it, and the one to win it. I think he showed the moxie he has and the confidence he's starting to gain. I think it was critical for him."
This may be hyperbolic, but Moody is still early in his NFL career, and he therefore still has the ability to evolve into a reliable kicker.
"It was awesome to see the kid and how he rebounded in that moment. I think what's even better is how his teammates reacted around him. I think that that is really cool. I think what a lot of people forget is that he was injured a lot last year, and he went through a tough time. Things like that happen in this league, and it's a matter of how you respond. He faced some adversity and he dug himself out of it and he's doing a really nice job."
As a rookie, Moody made 84% of his field-goal attempts and led the NFL with 60 successful extra point kicks (on 61 attempts). That year, he made six of nine field-goal tries from at least 40 yards out.
But last year, his overall field-goal accuracy fell to 70.6%, and he missed half of his 20 attempts from at least 40 yards.
With San Francisco dealing with injuries to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings, and with wideout Demarcus Robinson serving a suspension, it may have to depend a lot on Moody's leg to put points on the board.
The hope is that his performance this past Saturday will help him build some rock-solid confidence so that he will not give 49ers fans blood pressure spikes or ulcers any longer.
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