The Ups and Downs to the 49ers Week 1 Victory
It wasn't easy, but being great never is.
Keys to a thrilling win!
What a thrilling start to the season for the San Francisco 49ers as they edge out a nail biter, kicking off the season with a 1-0 record. Let’s dive into the crucial elements that propelled them to victory, along with a concerning issue that needs to be addressed.
- First, let’s address the elephant in the room with Jake Moody. A fine line between victory and defeat often hangs in the balance on the accuracy of the kickers. Sometimes, when your kicker misses a chip shot, that’s not all that alarming; however, given his history, this raises major red flags. The 49ers front office needs to scan the free agent market and make some calls. This needs to be addressed immediately.
- A key to the victory is the seasoned veterans on the 49ers. They put on a defensive clinic, proving why Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are essential to this team's success. Holding any offense to just 13 points and under 100 yards rushing is phenomenal, and we can’t forget Nick Bosa’s game-changing strip sack and fumble recovery that ended the game.
- Finally, let’s talk about Brock Purdy‘s performance, as he threw two interceptions. He also orchestrated several crucial drives when they mattered the most, with an impressive 74.3% completion rate, he managed to evade pressure behind a struggling offensive line and delivered two touchdown passes. This is the kind of resilience and top-notch play you would expect from a franchise quarterback, especially with the key injuries to several of his wide receivers, including tight end George Kittle.
The 49ers displayed some incredible strengths and some glaring weaknesses. They have room to grow, but their veteran leadership and Brock Purdy‘s talent highlighted their path to victory.
Against Seattle for the 2025 opening weekend, Jake Moody missed two field goals. * The first revealed a continuation of a pattern (my general observation) that Moody misses to the left most often. He needs to correct the drift to left. As a former soccer player and HS football kicker, this is correctable. Anybody paid to kick a football for a living has to have control over the direction of the ball in flight. It makes me wonder if the 49ers employee a coach specifically for kicking. * The second miss was due to poor blocking that resulted in a block. This is an unfortunate blemish on Moody’s record as he is not responsible for this miss, despite the miss being a part of his official record. * It has been reported that Shanahan has already confirmed there is no intention to replace Moody before the Week 2 game against New Orleans. +1 Kyle!