A Closer Look into 49ers Kicker Eddy Piñeiro's Early Season Struggles

This is interesting.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Winning tends to hide all shortcomings. 

And while the San Francisco 49ers have jumped out to a 4-0 start, the early struggles for kicker Eddy Piñeiro have not cost them in the standings but it shows that this season might not be as smooth as his first season in the red and gold.  

The 31-year-old has missed two field goals and two extra points through the first four weeks of the 2026 regular season. Piñeiro’s best game came in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, where he was perfect in his five extra point attempts. 

Both of Piñeiro’s missed field goals have been from beyond 50 yards, a 52-yard miss in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne that hit the right upright and a 54-yard kick that was blocked by the Denver Broncos in Week 4.

One of his missed extra points against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 also hit the right upright with the other missing to the left. 

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What made Piñeiro such a weapon last season was his consistency and reliability. He only missed one field goal in 2025, a 64-yard attempt, which hit the crossbar, against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16 at Lucas Oil Stadium. He also missed five extra points, two of which were blocked. 

But in his 16 appearances, both regular season and playoffs, with the 49ers, Piñeiro was perfect in all but five games. Compare that to 2026 and he has missed a kick in three of his first four games. 

While kicking for the Carolina Panthers for three seasons, Piñeiro had his worst season in 2023 where he missed a kick in six games. One of those games occurred at Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. A 55-yard attempt had the distance but was wide right. It would have given Carolina a lead halfway through the third quarter but it swung the game back in favor of the Seahawks, who ended up with a 37-27 win.  

None of Piñeiro’s missed kicks from 2025 led to him being the reason the 49ers lost a game, his only missed kick in a losing effort came in Week 10, a 42-26 loss against the Rams. 

Piñeiro (88.82%) still sits third all-time on the NFL field goal percentage list entering Week 5, so it certainly doesn’t mean to sound any alarms or perhaps sign a replacement. But it should be noted that Piñeiro might not be as Dinero as he was in 2025.