CLEVELAND — The 49ers had a chance to win their Week 6 contest with the Cleveland Browns, but in the final seconds of the game, Jake Moody’s field goal attempt went wide right, resulting in a 19-17 loss on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
“It sucks,” Moody said after the game. “The team fought really hard to get back in it to give me a chance to make it, and it’s on me. Got to make those kicks in those situations. But hopefully, I’ll have plenty more opportunities like that in my career. Obviously want to make the next one.”
The rookie kicker suffered the first two misses of his NFL career on Sunday, one wide left, and the other wide right. Moody said the last of his three kicks was not a case of overcompensation, but just a miss on his part.
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“I wouldn’t take back the first kick,” Moody said. “I feel like I hit that one really well. Just guess I didn’t judge the wind correctly. Stuff like that happens, and you just got to move on from it and try to make the next kick. The last one I just didn’t hit it great. It’s unfortunate.”
Long snapper Taylor Pepper shared that they felt confident during all three attempts and confirmed there is no loss of belief in the rookie’s abilities. The veteran believes facing challenges like this only will make them better as a group in the future.
“We had to face a lot of adversity in that game, overcome it, and we were right there at the end to close it out,” Pepper shared. “It’s like a muscle, you got to work it out. He was down on himself but these are all experiences that are going to make him better.”
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy echoed a similar sentiment after the game.
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“Honestly, we trust in Jake, he has a great leg, he’s been great all year," Purdy said. "If we had to do it again, man, we’re going to trust in Jake again. Jake’s done a great job all year we’re all going to continue to believe in him so it is what it is."
Moody was thankful for the support he received from his teammates after the game, all of them knowing that mistakes were made throughout all three phases of the game. For now, the Michigan product will try to mentally move on from his performance on Sunday.
“For a guy that just got here, having all my teammates tell me, keep my head up, give me a high-five, and a pat on the back that was pretty cool,” Moody said. “I really appreciate all that. Especially them putting their trust in me to make a kick.”
Moody will have to do his best to not let his two misses have a long-term effect on his game. With the 49ers' next contest on Monday night in Minnesota against the Vikings, the kicker will have to wait an extra day to get the bad taste out of his mouth.