Why 49ers Kicker Jake Moody Struggles on the Road

In retrospect, maybe the 49ers shouldn't have been surprised when Jake Moody missed two field goals in Cleveland on Sunday.

You could just look at his face as he standed on the sideline and see that he was not enthusiastic about the opportunity to decide the game at the end. He looked gray and miserable. And then he pushed a 41-yard field goal wide right. That's eight yards longer than an extra point, and the ball was right between the hash marks. And he still missed.

Moody has been missing field goals on the road at an alarming rate since college. At Michigan, when he was at home, he made 44 of 49 field goal attempts, or 88.9 percent. But on the road, he made just 19 of 28 field goal attempts, or 67.9 percent. Quite a split.

Those numbers suggest Moody's inaccuracy could be a mental issue, not a physical one. He has an extremely strong leg, and he's accurate when he's playing at home in front of fans who support him and cheer for him to make his kicks. This has been his pattern since college.

But on the road in hostile environments in front of fans who want him to miss, he tends to miss. He can't seem to stand up to the increased pressure and scrutiny when he's away from home.

That doesn't bode well for the 49ers this season.

They need a kicker who can make a game-winning field goal on the road in the playoffs this season -- a kicker who can perform under the highest degree of pressure. That was Robbie Gould. He never missed a kick in the playoffs.

Moody doesn't seem like the next Gould.