In a hard-fought battle against the Cleveland Browns, rookie kicker Jake Moody had a chance to redeem himself after an earlier missed field goal attempt, potentially helping his San Francisco 49ers win their 16th consecutive regular-season game. However, it was not meant to be. Moody couldn't connect on what would have been a game-winning field goal, and the 49ers suffered their first regular-season loss since October 23, 2022.
"We had a rough start of the offense, but when we needed the plays, we made them down at the end during the two-minute drive (to get into field goal range), and we just came up a little bit short," tackle Trent Williams said after the 19-17 loss.
Despite the disappointment, Williams and the rest of the 49ers' locker room remain firmly behind Moody. They recognize his potential and believe that he will only improve with time and experience.
"I would never put it on Moody at the end there," linebacker Fred Warner told reporters. "It's great that we had an opportunity to win that, in that fashion, but we didn't earn it."
The 49ers defense surrendered 334 total yards of offense and 160 rushing yards, the latter being their highest total given up in a single game this season. It was only the second time the defense allowed over 100 rushing yards this season.
After the game, Moody expressed gratitude for the support he received from teammates like Warner.
"For a guy that just got here, having all my teammates tell me to keep my head up, come give me a high five, pat on the back, that was pretty cool," Moody said in the visitor locker room. "So I really appreciate all that, especially them putting their trust in me to make a kick and just not execute. But having everybody have my back, even for a guy that just got here, that was pretty cool."
Jake Moody's teammates had his back after his missed field-goal attempt pic.twitter.com/F7qV4EnXU9
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 15, 2023
Warner knows that Moody's time will come and sees the potential in the first-year kicker. The linebacker places most of the blame on himself and his defensive unit, who couldn't put the game away when it mattered.
"He's a young player," Warner said of Moody. "He's a rookie, and he's going to have so many other opportunities to help us win games. And so, like I said, I would never put that on him, to say that we lost this game because of him."
Another player who did not play well is quarterback Brock Purdy, who suffered his first regular-season loss as a starter. Although Purdy had a disappointing performance for most of the game, he managed to get the 49ers in range for the potential game-winning field goal.
"Honestly, we trust in Jake," Purdy declared. "Jake, he has a great leg. He's been great all year. [Head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], that's something that he saw, where we were good at where we were at, and we trusted in Jake to make the kick.
"And so, for me, do I think we should have done this or that? I think we did our job, and I think if we had to do it again, we're going to trust in Jake again. Jake's done a great job all year. We're going to continue to believe in him, and it is what it is."
Shanahan added, "It's always tough to miss that last kick, but that happens in football. [The Browns] played better than us today. That was the last play, but there was a lot more today than just that."