Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterOct 6, 2024, 10:00 PM ET
CloseNick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers were only able to enjoy their biggest special teams play of the season for a few moments before disaster struck again Sunday afternoon.
This time, it wasn’t a one-off like the Rams successfully faking a punt, the Vikings blocking a punt or a fumbled kickoff return against the Patriots. Instead, it was kicker Jake Moody suffering a high right ankle sprain while attempting to make a tackle on a kick return.
The fallout of that play had a more lasting impact than the miscues that have plagued the Niners in previous weeks as San Francisco had to play the game’s final 34 minutes and 59 seconds without their kicker in a game in which they would blow a 13-point lead and go on to lose 24-23 to the Cardinals. It was the 49ers’ second loss after leading by double digits in the fourth quarter this season with the other coming in Week 3 against the Rams.
Before this season, the Niners were 51-2 under coach Kyle Shanahan when leading by double digits in the fourth quarter. With Sunday’s defeat, the 49ers drop to 2-3 on the season, 0-2 in the NFC West division and 0-3 against NFC opponents and must now travel to play the division-leading Seahawks on short rest Thursday night in Seattle.
“Losing your kicker is huge,” tight end George Kittle said. “That’s tough. Jake is a hell of a kicker and you don’t have that option.”
That option could have come in handy multiple times in a second half in which the 49ers failed to score. It was just the 10th time they didn’t score in either half of a regular season game since Shanahan took over in 2017.
Moody suffered the injury with just under five minutes to go in the second quarter. After 49ers defensive tackle Jordan Elliott blocked a field goal attempt and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir returned it 61 yards for a touchdown, Moody was aiming to hit the ensuing kickoff for a touchback as he had on all but four of his previous 27 kickoffs this season.
Kicking into the wind, Moody said he got under the ball a bit, giving Cardinals returner DeeJay Dallas a return opportunity. As Dallas worked his way past the first line of Niners defenders, he encountered Moody along the left side of the field. As Moody attempted to make the tackle, he was knocked backward with his body folding over his right (kicking) leg.
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Moody immediately slammed his helmet in frustration, recognizing the play had unfolded similar to when he says he broke his leg trying to make a tackle in eighth grade. The initial diagnosis is a high ankle sprain, which is better than a fracture, though Moody is due for most testing before a recovery timeline can be determined.
“Thankfully I didn’t feel anything break or crack or anything as I did when I did break it,” Moody said. “That was good. But I knew something was wrong immediately. It’s just unfortunate.”
A cart took Moody to the locker room soon after the injury with punter Mitch Wishnowsky moving to kicking duties and fullback Kyle Juszczyk as the holder.
Wishnowsky did make his lone field goal attempt, a 26-yarder that put San Francisco up 23-10 just before halftime but Moody’s absence put even more strain on an offense that had already leaned too heavily upon the kicker in the season’s first month.
On a day when the 49ers scored just one touchdown on six drives inside Arizona’s 10, their first red zone trip after Moody’s injury ended at Arizona’s 27 after quarterback Brock Purdy was sacked for a loss of 9 yards and the Niners chose to go for it on fourth-and-23 rather than have Wishnowsky attempt a 45-yard field goal.
It also changed how the Niners viewed their final drive of the game. Trailing by one with 1:32 to go and the ball at their 27, San Francisco would normally be comfortable having Moody try a game-winning field goal from 57 yards or so.
With Wishnowsky as the kicker, the Niners were aiming to get to at least Arizona’s 15 so the potential game-winner would be similar to an extra point.
While the lack of a kicker undoubtedly altered the Niners’ end of game approach, it also wasn’t the biggest reason for the loss. The aforementioned red zone woes plus three turnovers on offense combined with shoddy late-game tackling on defense were the primary culprits.
The 49ers led the NFL in red zone efficiency in 2023, scoring touchdowns on 67.2% of their drives inside the 20. Going into the Sunday night game, the Niners were 30th in the NFL in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on 40.9% of their drives inside the opponent’s 20. What’s more, they’ve only scored touchdowns on six-of-12 goal-to-go situations, a 50% mark that ranks 31st in the league and well short of the 82.9% they reached last season.
It might be the area that running back Christian McCaffrey’s absence because of lingering Achilles tendonitis is felt most. He tied for the league lead in touchdowns from scrimmage (21) last year and has not played in any of San Francisco’s five games this season.
“Everything is pretty tight,” Purdy said. “I’ve just got to be better and more aggressive down there and just collectively as a unit, once we get down there, all of us, our mindset man has to be, we’ve got to punch this in. Obviously, we know we can settle for a field goal but we got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and cross the goal line.”
It’s an issue, along with many others, that the Niners know they must fix in short order. They will return to practice on Tuesday before traveling to Seattle. On Monday, San Francisco will bring in kickers for a closer look, one of whom will have to be added to replace Moody for at least the next few weeks, according to Shanahan.
In other words, there’s no time for the defending NFC champions to lick their wounds and wonder why this season has started in such disappointing fashion.
“We’d love to sit here and get pissed and we’d love to be able to do something about what just happened but you can’t,” Shanahan said. “You can’t do anything about these games once they end. I tell the guys the next time we’ll be able to do something is Thursday and it’s better to only have to wait until Thursday than have to wait until next Sunday.”
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