49ers overreactions: Is it time to replace Moody after rocky season? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers have set the bar high in recent seasons.
The team has advanced to the NFC Championship Game, with two Super Bowl appearances, in four of the past five NFL seasons.
But this season was a disaster.
Tight end George Kittle is the only one of the 49ers’ big star players whose play hasn’t dipped this season, while Brock Purdy and Deebo Samuel were among those who saw significant drops in statistical production.
If the only game you’ve seen this season was the 49ers’ 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, you’ve seen everything you need to know about the team.
Here are the fanbase’s observations via Bluesky on this elimination edition of the 49ers’ overreactions:
The Niners OL is among the worst in the league and upgrades are needed at multiple positions. — @irishgiantsfan.bsky.social
Everyone except Puni must return their free truck. — @andrewh49.bsky.social
Overreactions? Yes, no and well played.
Yeah, the offensive line didn’t exactly reward Purdy (and Toyota) for the generosity.
Their gift to Purdy was a stocking full of coal.
The 49ers offensive line in Sunday’s game was not good. But it was also expected. Trent Williams missed his fifth straight game. And after a few more injuries, the 49ers had their third-string players in the game at left tackle and left guard.
There will certainly be changes to the offensive line for the 2025 NFL season. Aaron Banks is unlikely to return as an unrestricted free agent.
The offensive line is definitely an area where the 49ers should look to improve.
But some perspective is also justified. The 49ers aren’t alone. Just about every team in the NFL has needs along the offensive line.
Defensive linemen tend to be more explosive and better athletes than those on the offensive line.
Believe it or not, the 49ers’ offensive line is considered better than most. Pro Football Focus, which assigns grades to every player in every game, ranks the 49ers No. 1 in the NFL in run blocking and No. 14 in pass protection.
Purdy is far from the 49ers’ biggest problem. At some point, though, he has to find a way to win games like this one or last week. These were winnable games if there had been better QB play. — @michaelpedhirney.bsky.social
Overreaction? No.
The quarterback’s job is to win games.
And the 49ers didn’t win nearly enough games this season.
Is it all on Purdy? Of course not. But his position gets an inordinate amount of the credit and blame.
Nobody cares about injuries or anything.
“No matter who is there, we have what it takes to win and move the chains and score points so our team has a chance to win,” Purdy said. “That’s my mentality. That’s where I’m hard on myself: we’ve had some guys get beat up and stuff, and we haven’t been able to get it done. So I’m just strict on myself in that regard.”
It’s about the end result, and Purdy didn’t act to save the team.
Purdy agrees he has to come up with the answers to give the team what it needs to be saved — as he did on fourth-quarter comebacks in the NFL playoffs last season.
Purdy is a robot in Shanahan’s system (which he loves), but the 49ers actually need a QB with some creativity who will cover up some of Shanahan’s mistakes — @pdxlagniappe.bsky.social
Overreaction? Yes.
I thought we long ago dispelled the myth that Purdy was purely a numbers-driven quarterback.
He makes a lot of second-reaction plays or goes off script to find receivers who aren’t even in the progression.
This season he added the running element to his game. With two games remaining, Purdy has 311 yards and four rushing touchdowns. That’s more than double what he produced on the field in 2023, when he finished fourth in the NFL MVP voting.
Those are plays that are not set up as runs. These are plays in which he improvised and found ways to escape the pressure and make a play.
Overreaction? No.
It’s not an overreaction that the 49ers need more consistency in the kicking game. That’s for sure.
Of the kickers who have played in ten or more games this season, only four have a worse field goal percentage than Moody.
He is 23 of 30 on field goal attempts (76.7 percent). All of his misses came from beyond 40 yards.
This was Moody’s second season after arriving as a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Nothing should be guaranteed anymore.
While cutting him now probably isn’t the answer, the 49ers should treat him equally with anyone they bring to the team this offseason.
He would have to earn the job through a training camp match.
Overreaction? Yes.
Have the 49ers made a decision on Deebo Samuel? Probably not.
On Sunday, he looked like the Deebo Samuel we’ve seen for most of his first five seasons in the NFL.
While it didn’t help the 49ers get a win on Sunday, the team is better when Samuel gets the ball in his hands and tricks defenders like he did on his 16-yard touchdown catch.
He produced 96 yards receiving and 25 yards rushing. The question the 49ers need to answer is what kind of player they would get in 2025.
It can go either way.
With the uncertainty surrounding Brandon Aiyuk’s recovery from ACL surgery, Ricky Pearsall not yet established, and coach Kyle Shanahan’s continued support for Samuel, the 49ers may determine he is part of the solution for next season .
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