49ers HC Kyle Shanahan not worried about rookie Jake Moody's two missed field goals

Jake Moody‘s NFL debut didn’t quite go the way he hoped. The two-time Big Ten Kicker of the Year and winner of the 2021 Lou Groza Award trotted onto the field to attempt two field goals in his first appearance with the San Francisco 49ers. He struggled to find the center of the goal posts.

Moody missed on both of his field goal tries in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. His first attempt was a 40-yard try with just four seconds remaining in the half.

His second attempt was from much longer, putting a leg into a 58-yarder. Moody was unable to connect on that one, too.

Not an ideal showing from a third-round pick. But head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t too worried about the situation — especially with it being Moody’s first game.

“I mean, it’s unfortunate because I know the pressure on him when everyone’s looking,” Shanahan said, per Niners Wire. “I know he missed those two today, but he’s been great in practice. He’s hit them all. I was just excited to attempt a long one, which was fun until it was missed. But he’s been great. He handles himself well, so no issues here with me.”

Moody did handle kickoff duties and converted on San Francisco’s one PAT attempt. The 49ers dropped their preseason opener 34-7. They still have preseason games against the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers remaining.

Jake Moody was an All-American kicker at Michigan

San Francisco obviously liked Moody’s leg a lot. It’s not often you see a kicker taken in the third round of an NFL Draft. That’s how confident the franchise is in his ability.

So, while Sunday’s performance was disappointing, there’s a lot of time for Moody to live up to the hype.

Over the course of his career at Michigan, Moody connected on 69-of-84 field goal attempts. He was also a perfect 148-of-148 on extra point tries. In 2021, he connected on a career-long attempt of 52 yards. But last fall, he shattered that mark by drilling a 59-yard kick.

Moody will undoubtedly get more opportunities throughout the preseason. Getting as many live reps as possible before the regular season arrives could be critical in getting the kicker back on the right track.

For now, though, it sounds like Shanahan is chalking it up to first-game jitters. We’ll see how Moody performs in the next two preseason games.