49ers look for replacement for Moody after kicker was injured against Cardinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — An NFL placekicker isn’t usually a team’s most important player, especially on one loaded with star players like the 49ers.
But in San Francisco’s crushing 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, sophomore Jake Moody’s injury loomed large in the one-point loss.
On the kickoff, after the 49ers defense blocked a Cardinals field goal attempt and ran it in for a touchdown to extend their lead to 19-10 with 4:59 left in the second quarter, Arizona back DeeJay Dallas answered the Moody’s subsequent kick to the Arizona 38-yard where the 49ers kicker met him and attempted to tackle him before rolling over on his right ankle.
After being examined on the field by 49ers medical staff, Moody staggered to the San Francisco sideline, where he sat for a few minutes before being taken off the field in a cart. He was initially questionable to return before the 49ers officially ruled him out later in the game.
Coach Kyle Shanahan revealed after the game that Moody suffered a high ankle sprain and that the 49ers will immediately field replacement kickers with a quick turnaround before the “Thursday Night Football” game with the Seattle Seahawks just four days away.
“Yes, they will work on that right away,” Shanahan said of the 49ers seeking a temporary Moody replacement. “With kickers, they’re almost independent contractors, so we’ll get them in as quickly as we can and get the best guy we can, and I’m sure it’ll have to be for a few weeks. I’m not sure, but I know They told me a high ankle and that’s never fast.”
Moody spoke about his injury after the game, and while he will likely miss at least several weeks, he is relieved the injury wasn’t worse.
“Luckily I didn’t feel anything breaking or cracking or anything like when I broke it,” Moody said. “So yeah, that was good. But I knew right away something was wrong. It’s just a shame.”
The 24-year-old has had a similar injury before, but not as a kicker. Moody revealed that he once broke the same ankle on a similar play in eighth grade, except he was playing safety and trying to tackle the opposing team’s running back before his leg spun underneath him.
While Sunday’s injury could have been avoided if the 49ers’ special teams unit had tackled Dallas before getting to Moody, Shanahan will never be able to stop his kicker from trying to make a stop.
‘Same as everyone else. You try to tackle and you don’t tell the guys to keep their ankle out,” Shanahan explained. “You hope it doesn’t come to him and he doesn’t have to make a tackle, but you also don’t tell guys to turn it away and let them score. So that’s part of football.”
The 49ers were without their kicker for more than two quarters, and his absence loomed large in the second half.
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky was able to successfully kick a 26-yard field goal in place of Moody to end the first half, but San Francisco’s offense then opted to go for it on fourth-and-23 from the Arizona 27-yard line on its second drive of the third quarter as Shanahan deemed the attempt too far beyond Wishnowsky’s reach, essentially resulting in a turnover-on-down kick.
Trailing by one point with 1:32 remaining in the game, the 49ers offense had a chance to march down the field for a potential game-winning score before quarterback Brock Purdy threw a backbreaking interception that changed the fate of San Francisco signed off. If the 49ers had pushed into Arizona territory, Shanahan revealed that the offense needed to get the ball to the Cardinals’ 15-yard line so Wishnowsky could attempt a potential game-winning field goal.
But unfortunately, as Moody’s injury was indeed a major blow to the 49ers’ offense, it was other costly mistakes at inopportune times that proved to be the difference.
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