While the San Francisco 49ers sit at 5-1 and a field goal miss shy of a 6-0 mark, head coach Kyle Shanahan wants to keep things in perspective for rookie kicker Jake Moody.
The 49ers’ third-round NFL draft pick couldn’t deliver a game-winning field goal against the Cleveland Browns in a 19-17 defeat on Sunday, October 15. Moody, who beat out Zane Gonzalez in training camp, will receive more chances to succeed after two missed attempts of 54 and 41 yards, which bothered fans on social media.
“I’m glad that we’re able to attempt that from that far, but that’s not something that if you’re real mad at him for always missing that far of one, you’re going to be disappointed at times,” Shanahan said during a press conference on Monday, October 16. “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.”
Jake Moody taking a picture with family🔥
📸: @TracyFGSN
Shanahan also said he didn’t see “a common thread” on Moody’s two missed field goals in the loss — his only two misses all year. Moody started the season 6-6 on field goals before the 1-3 showing at Cleveland.
“I didn’t think so. I mean, he missed the first one, left and he missed the second one, right,” Shanahan said. “You can ask him about that, but you can get into the technicalities of kicking and everything. But to me it just looked like he missed it a little bit.”
Jake Moody Didn’t Misread Wind, Kyle Shanahan Says
Moody’s first miss came on a 54-yard attempt in the first quarter, but he bounced back to hit a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter. While his second miss came on a 41-yard attempt, Shanahan doesn’t believe Moody misjudged the 18-mile-per-hour wind during the game.
“No, I mean, I talked to [special teams coordinator Brian Schneider] Schneids on the plane and he didn’t mention anything like that,” Shanahan said. “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.”
Kyle Shanahan: ‘We Didn’t Play That Good of Football’
Shanahan also made it clear that the game didn’t need to come down to Moody’s missed game-winning attempt. Lots of things went wrong for a 49ers squad that looked like an offensive juggernaut and defensive force going into Cleveland.
“I mean, you’ve got to play good football in this league, or you are going to get beat,” Shanahan said. “It doesn’t matter who you play or what or when, but we didn’t play that good of football.”
“We almost were still able to pull it out, which I would’ve been proud of them for doing that. I mean, you’re not always going to play great football and you still got to find ways to win,” Shanahan continued. “Not just missed assignments, penalties, missed tackles, a couple missed opportunities that are the difference in winning and losing. When you miss those throughout the game, rarely does it work out in the end. So either way that happened.”
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Kyle Shanahan Addresses 49ers Kicker Jake Moody’s Missed Game-Winner