The lead-up to the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders was Moody’s efficiency. All week, you read about how Moody banked anything and everything through the uprights.
Which was what a fan would want to read since Moody’s original competition for the kicking job, Greg Joseph, was released.
Those sentiments continued into the game, with Moody making his first kick from 30-yards:
Then came his second kick from 53 yards, complete with someone showing the collective fans’ frustration:
Now things are a bit more familiar. He also had a 26-yard attempt in the fourth quarter that looked like it was just about to go to doink city as well. So it’s what fans have come to expect with Moody: flawless one moment, maddening the next. And when he’s maddening, it’s usually at the absolute worst times.
At least, that’s how we would end it, if it weren’t for the end of the game. The defining moment 5-6 day wasn’t his inconsistent trajectory; it was the game-winning 59-yard walk-off off
Moody went 5-6 with successful distances of 26, 30, 44, 50, and 59 yards. His lone miss was the aformentioned 53-yarder. Maybe there’s positivity, maybe there’s skepticism, since it wasn’t a perfect day and some of his success were near-misses. Depends on who you ask. His coach is going with the former.
“I think going 4-5, hitting a 59-yarder and a 50-yarder, I think that was a hell of a day for him,” Shanahan said in his post-game press conference. “I thought he kicked his ass off, and it gives us a lot of confidence.”
Confidence for a 59-yard field goal to win a game, but it doesn’t erase that Moody still had wobbly kicks, one of which probably had no business going through the uprights. These same milestones have been seen in Moody’s rookie season.
Back when the 49ers had Greg Joseph as competition for Moody, 49ers special teams coach Brant Boyer said consistency would be the deciding factor. This didn’t take into account injuries to other positions and roster needs. When the injuries piled up, two kickers couldn’t be on the roster, so the 49ers abruptly ended Kicker Kombat and crowned Moody the winner.
Moody has shown enough that there may not be any alternative at this point.
Sure, it’s preseason, and sure, he’s hit a walk-off before. But if Moody can stack more games like this, maybe ‘inconsistency’ won’t be the first word fans reach for when they hear his name. Saturday was a step — now he has to prove it’s not just another tease.
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