Not only did Jake Moody not need to make that kick against the Cleveland Browns, but his miss was unusual. With one game remaining, the San Francisco 49ers rookie kicker has managed to put together a fantastic season through 16 weeks.
First and foremost, Jake Moody has been flawless on extra points this season. With the 49ers’ penchant for finding the endzone, he’s had plenty of chances to miss, but he’s made all 58.
His kicks are next. He’s been flawless under 40 yards. Moody has drilled 15 kicks from less than 40 yards.
So let’s get to the bad stuff. Moody has missed three of his 24 attempts. You already know where those came from. He missed two shots during the 49ers’ three-game losing streak. Two were missed against the Cleveland Browns, and one against the Minnesota Vikings.
After that, everything went swimmingly. Since the Vikings, Moody has never missed a field goal. He was flawless from 40+ to 50+.
A few things to keep in mind: Moody didn’t have a lot of field goal attempts in 2023. His 24 tries rank him 27th in the league. That is both a good and a bad thing. This is good because it means the 49ers offense is performing well and scoring touchdowns. It’s good because it relieves pressure on a rookie kicker and doesn’t mess with his mental game as he adjusts to life in the NFL. Nobody wants multiple shanks to derail their career.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have many opportunities to practice that leg. Jason Myers of the Seattle Seahawks leads the league in attempts with 40. While he has a lower success rate than Moody, he also has slightly more work.
Moody’s field goal percentage is 87.5, and when combined with his attempts, he ranks in the middle of the pack.
Despite this, Moody has gradually carved out a reliable role with the 49ers as a rookie with only two bad games. The only game where you can point to him and say his misses were a factor is the Browns game. The 49ers didn’t lose because of that, but they could have held on and won if he had made that kick. Fortunately, this did not jeopardize their No. 1 seeding chances, as they were able to secure their first round bye before the final week of the regular season.
I know a lot of people on this site are worried about the possibility of him having to make a postseason kick. My response is that he will have to sooner or later. Personally, I’d prefer it later. Regardless, er, thought, Moody has put together a respectable season. It won’t break any records, but it’s not a kicker who will be out of the league in a single season, as some would like.
Hopefully, Moody will continue to improve. What do you think of Moody’s season?
