Harrison Butker Breaks Down Why 49ers' Jake Moody has the Yips

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker indirectly explains why 49ers kicker Jake Moody has the yips and what Moody can do to fix it.

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) reacts after missing a field goal in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

NEW ORLEANS -- 2024 was off to a hot start for San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody.

He looked to finally be consistent and reliable. That all ended when he sprained his ankle in the first matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Moody was back to his woeful ways. There was zero confidence in him making any kick including the chip shot ones.

Eventually, his misses would frustrate Deebo Samuel to the point it led to a confrontation against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even Kyle Shanahan started growing impatient and annoyed with Moody. It's wild to see a kicker who was prominent coming out of college decline to an extreme.

At Super Bowl opening night, I asked Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker about slumps to understand why and how Moody has the yips.

"So much of kicking is the mental aspect of it," said Butker. "If you're missing kicks you have to realize or you have to decide is it a technique issue? Is it my mental approach? Maybe it's both? It's that balance of, you wanna change to get better, but you also don't wanna change too much. In some ways, you don't wanna care too much because if you care too much then it just takes your whole life over and that's all you think about. Sometimes that can just make things worse. I think the way that you adapt and change, you alter either your mental approach or your physical approach, which is what makes a lot of kickers either great or not in the league."

Butker hits the nail on the head. Moody's issues never look like they are technical. It has always looked like a mental problem. He never looks confident when he goes to kick. Even when he makes it, he never looks happy.

He looks like he's shocked it went in. I think the part of Butker's answer about caring too much is where Moody is at. It's eating away at him and there's nothing anyone on the team can say to him to get him out of it.

A change of scenery might be best for Moody. There's too much bad energy and experiences for him with the 49ers. It could be the path for him to free himself up mentally. Otherwise, there is no hope or confidence in him conquering the yips.

"I think the difference between the very best in the NFL to ever do it, to guys who didn't even make it to the NFL, a lot of times it's not a physical difference it's just their mental approach and how they handle the misses and kind of going through those slumps because we're all going to have them. It's just you wanna make sure your slump isn't all the way down here. Hopefully, it's just a small slump."

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