It’s that time of year again. The San Francisco 49ers started their quest for six with a 17-13 win up in Seattle.
But just like last year, instead of looking at the schedule as a series of 17 games, we will look at each game as an individual homework assignment to prepare for the test that is the regular season. Unfortunately, last season, the 49ers didn’t even get the chance to take the test. This year, San Francisco obviously hopes that changes.
So what did we learn from the first homework assignment of 2025? These three things:
The time to move on from Moody was probably at the end of the 2024 season, but Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch wanted to give Moody one more chance. Moody’s 55 percent clip over the final nine games of last season proved to be just bad enough for the 49ers to bring in Greg Joseph to compete with Moody over training camp.
That competition was never one, and Joseph was released before the team’s first preseason game.
The decision set the stage for Sunday, when Moody went 1-for-3 on field goals, lowering his field goal percentage to a hapless 52.2 percent since the bye week last season. But it’s not the misses that should be why Moody is moved on from; it’s the trust.
Moody’s first miss came from 27 yards on Sunday when he clanged a kick from the left hashmark off the left upright. That set the tone for confidence in the kicker as he lined up for a much more intimidating 36-yard attempt in the third quarter that ended up being blocked, which isn’t Moody’s fault. He finally split the uprights on his third attempt (the charm) from what should be a manageable 32 yards, but with Moody, nothing is manageable.
On Sunday alone, we watched as Chris Boswell, a 34-year-old who went undrafted back in 2014, nailed a 56-yard and 60-yard field goal at the horn to give the Steelers a victory over the Jets. Then, in the Sunday night game, fifth-round rookie Tyler Loop nailed a 52-yard and a 49-yard field goal to start his career perfect. And to close things out, 41-year-old Matt Prater – who was available to sign last week – went three-for-three, hitting a 32-yard field goal to give the Bills a comeback victory over the Ravens.
Now ask yourself, would you have trusted Jake Moody to hit any of those field goals? If your answer is yes, I am open to taking whatever drug you are on.
But the answer is no, you could not trust Moody to make those kicks because, simply enough, he can’t be trusted to make a 27-yard attempt, let alone anything Boswell hit on Sunday.
After a tumultuous season under Steve Wilks and a season to forget under Nick Sorenson, big-time Robert Saleh has returned to right the defensive ship, and his re-debut with the 49ers could not have gone any better on Sunday.
After Sorensen’s defense last season allowed more than 13 points in all games except three, Saleh wasted no time holding the Seahawks offense to a lonesome 13 points, forcing Seattle’s offense to earn every point they could get.
The most noticeable change from last season for San Francisco’s defense was the run-stopping ability on Sunday. As much as Seattle tried – running the ball just as much as they passed – the Seahawks couldn’t get anything going on the ground. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet combined for 67 rushing yards on 22 attempts, a measly 3.05 yards per attempt after the 49ers allowed 4.4 yards per attempt in 2024.
It wasn’t only the run defense, but the pass defense was stout as well. Former 49er and Viking Sam Darnold was in a tizzy for most of Sunday afternoon. It took until the Seahawks’ final possession for Darnold to surpass the century mark in yards, and there was never really a moment when Darnold felt like he was in control of the game.
While Saleh will get plenty of credit (as he deserves), it was a few new additions to the starting lineup, while some familiar names made an impact. Marques Sigle played well in his NFL debut, while Dee Winters might have been the best player on the 49ers’ defense in his debut as the full-time weakside linebacker. Then there was Fred Warner, who played like you’d expect, and Nick Bosa made the defensive play of the game with his strip sack of Darnold to seal the win.
It might be a slight Week 1 overreaction, but one I am comfortable with proclaiming. The 49ers’ defense, which was once feared, is back.
If this game had happened in 2024, the 49ers would have lost this game. But this is the big and bad 2025 49ers, and these 49ers win ugly games.
Last season, the 49ers were 1-4 in games they trailed at the end of the first quarter and 1-7 in games where they trailed at halftime. While they snuck out of the first quarter with a 7-0 lead, a ten-point second quarter saw Seattle take the lead into the half, and momentum was surely on Seattle’s side with Moody’s 27-yard miss followed by a Jason Myers 48-yard kick to put the Seahawks up three at the break.
The third quarter was just as ugly, with the 49ers’ only two drives of the period resulting in a Brock Purdy interception and Moody’s block. Luckily for the 49ers, Seattle failed to capitalize on their lone possession of the third, going three-and-out.
Seattle was driving to start the fourth quarter in an attempt to extend its lead. Sam Okuayinonu punched momentum back towards the 49ers, though, forcing Jaxon Smith-Njigba to fumble, which Sigle recovered. San Francisco responded with an 11-play drive that finally saw Moody split the uprights to tie the game.
Seattle would have one last gasp, intercepting Purdy again later in the fourth and turning the turnover into a go-ahead field goal, putting the Seahawks up three with three and a half minutes left in the game.
With their back to the wall, Purdy turned it on, completing every pass on a drive that would lead to the quarterback hitting Jake Tonges for the game-winning touchdown. The touchdown pass was Purdy’s first career touchdown pass in the final four minutes of a game with the 49ers tied or trailing.
That was a game 49ers fans were conditioned to lose last season, but in their first try of 2025, it led to a victory. Ideally, San Francisco plays better from here on out, but it’s good information to have that the 49ers can win a game where they don’t play their best.
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