The San Francisco 49ers put together strong performances on both sides of the ball in their 32-19 win over the New York Jets in Week 1.
While the offense and defense showed out, their special teams was the star of Monday night’s show thanks to second-year kicker Jake Moody. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after drilling all six of his field goal attempts in the victory.
Moody drilled a 46-yarder to open the scoring. His next one was good from 51 yards out. He hit a chip shot 31-yarder to push the 49ers’ lead to 16-7 just before the half. His 53-yard try doinked off the left upright and through. Then he was good from 23 and 42 yards to help the 49ers put the game away while their offense struggled to find the end zone.
Money Moody 🤑 pic.twitter.com/HJ6asOFONx
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 11, 2024
This is a great sign for the 49ers and their 2023 third-round pick, who struggled at points last season. While he was perfect on extra points until Week 18, he missed a couple of crucial kicks in Weeks 6 and 7 that led to San Francisco’s first two losses of the season. He finished his rookie campaign 21-of-25 on field goal tries.
Ideally the 49ers offense will start turning their drives into touchdowns. For now though, they’ve found a reliable kicker. And if Moody is going to be as reliable all year as he was Monday night, the 49ers will have a pretty significant advantage down the stretch of close games.
