49ers teammates express frustration after Jake Moody has field-goal attempt blocked in 17-13 win
Kicker Jake Moody went 1-for-3 with a missed 27-yard try and a blocked 36-yard attempt as San Francisco salvaged a road victory over Seattle
San Francisco 49ers players showed visible frustration after kicker Jake Moody had a field-goal attempt blocked in the third quarter of a 17-13 road win over the Seattle Seahawks, though head coach Kyle Shanahan said Moody’s roster spot is not in doubt.
Moody missed a 27-yard field goal late in the second quarter and had a 36-yard try blocked by Seahawks defensive back Julian Love in the third. He rebounded in the fourth quarter by converting a 32-yard kick to tie the game, and quarterback Brock Purdy later engineered a go-ahead touchdown drive in the closing minutes to secure the victory.
Television sideline reporter Pam Oliver said she saw "two thrown helmets and a lot of ticked-off looking players" after the blocked kick, and several teammates were openly displeased on the sideline. Moody finished the game 1 of 3 on field-goal attempts.
Moody had an impressive rookie season in 2023, making 21 of 25 field goals, but struggled in 2024, converting 24 of 34 attempts and missing 10 field goals overall. He connected on 10 of 20 attempts from at least 40 yards last season, including 6 of 11 from 40–49 yards and 4 of 9 from 50-plus yards. The kicker also made a mechanical change in the offseason, shifting from a three-step to a two-step approach.
"I want to prove to myself that I deserve to be here and that I belong and it doesn’t have anything to do with last year or other people or anything," Moody told ESPN before the season, saying he had "changed my mindset to just focusing on the now and doing whatever I can do in the moment to help myself best make kicks." The 49ers kept Moody in the spring over veteran Greg Joseph.
Shanahan defended Moody after the game, saying the kicker is healthy and that his roster spot is secure for the time being. "Right now, I have no question," Shanahan said. "I’m trying to finish today, go get on a plane and evaluate stuff, and go back at it. You guys can ask me every day and I’ll answer how I am right at that moment."
At the same time, Shanahan acknowledged the significance of the missed kick and called for improvement on the special-teams operation. "Obviously, I was disappointed we missed two field goals," he said. "Missed one, which is a big miss … the next one, (Julian) Love made a hell of a move … We got to clean up the operation. That one wasn’t Jake, that’s the whole operation. We got to do better."
The 49ers face the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, and the club could explore a kickoff or kicking workout if it seeks to add competition at the position. For now, Shanahan’s comments signaled that the team will evaluate Moody but is not ready to make an immediate change.
Reliable kicking has been an area of scrutiny for contenders, and Moody’s early-season miscues renewed questions about consistency after a difficult 2024. San Francisco will have little time to address the matter before its next game, and the performance of the special teams unit — including the blocking and placement on kicks — is likely to draw additional attention in the coming days.
