Jake Moody suffers a sprained ankle in the San Francisco 49ers' loss

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Francisco 49ers were able to enjoy their biggest special teams game of the season for just a few moments before disaster struck again Sunday afternoon.

This time it wasn't an isolated incident like the Rams successfully faking a punt, the Vikings blocking a punt, or a fumbled kickoff return against the Patriots. Instead, kicker Jake Moody suffered a sprained right ankle while attempting a kick return.

The consequences of this game had a more lasting impact than the mistakes that had plagued the Niners in recent weeks, as San Francisco was forced to play the final 34 minutes and 59 seconds of the game without its kicker, blowing a 13-point lead and losing 24- 23 against the Cardinals. It was the 49ers' second loss after leading by double digits in the fourth quarter this season, the other coming in Week 3 against the Rams.

Before this season, the Niners under coach Kyle Shanahan were 51-2 when leading by double digits in the fourth quarter. With Sunday's loss, the 49ers dropped to 2-3 on the season, 0-2 in the NFC West and 0-3 against NFC opponents, and will now face the division-leading Seahawks on a short break in Seattle on Thursday night.

“Losing the kicker is huge,” tight end George Kittle said. “This is hard. Jake is a great kicker and you don’t have that option.”

This option could have come in handy several times in a second half in which the 49ers failed to score. It was just the 10th time since Shanahan took over in 2017 that they failed to score in half of a regular-season game.

Moody suffered the injury with just under five minutes left in the second quarter. After 49ers defensive tackle Jordan Elliott blocked a field goal attempt and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir returned it 61 yards for a touchdown, Moody looked to hit the ensuing kickoff for a touchback, as he did on all but four of his own had done 27 previous kickoffs this season.

Moody kicked into the wind and said he got under the ball a little, giving Cardinals returner DeeJay Dallas a return opportunity. Dallas worked his way past the front row of Niners defenders and found Moody on the left side of the field. As Moody attempted to make the tackle, he was thrown backwards with his body bending over his right (kicking) leg.

Moody immediately thrashed his helmet in frustration, realizing that the play was similar to the time he said he broke his leg trying to make a tackle in eighth grade. The initial diagnosis is a severe ankle sprain, which is better than a fracture, although Moody is due for most tests before a recovery timeline can be determined.

“Luckily I didn't feel anything break or crack or anything like I did when I broke it,” Moody said. “That was good. But I knew immediately that something was wrong. It’s just unfortunate.”

A cart took Moody to the locker room shortly after the injury, with punter Mitch Wishnowsky taking over to kick and fullback Kyle Juszczyk acting as holder.

Wishnowsky did make his only field goal attempt, a 26-yarder that gave San Francisco a 23-10 lead just before halftime, but Moody's absence put a strain on an offense that had already relied too heavily on the kicker in the first month of the season had supported, even more.

On a day in which the 49ers scored just one touchdown on six drives inside Arizona's 10, their first trip to the red zone since Moody's injury ended at Arizona's 27 after quarterback Brock Purdy was sacked for a 9-yard loss and the Niners decided to go ahead on fourth-and-23 rather than let Wishnowsky attempt a 45-yard field goal.

It also changed the way the Niners viewed their final drive of the game. With 1:32 left and the ball at 27 yards, San Francisco would normally feel comfortable with Moody attempting a game-winning field goal from about 57 yards.

With Wishnowsky as the kicker, the Niners aimed to reach at least Arizona's 15, so the potential game-winner would amount to an extra point.

While the lack of a kicker undoubtedly changed the Niners' approach at the end of the game, it also wasn't the primary reason for the loss. The aforementioned red zone issues as well as three turnovers on offense combined with poor tackling on defense late in the game were the primary culprits.

The 49ers led the NFL in red zone efficiency in 2023, scoring touchdowns inside the 20 on 67.2% of their drives. Before Sunday night's game, the Niners ranked 30th in the NFL in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on 40.9% of drives inside the opponent's 20. Additionally, they have scored touchdowns in just six of 12 goal-to-go situations, a 50 percent mark that ranks 31st in the league and well below the 82.9 percent they scored last reached the season.

It might be the area where running back Christian McCaffrey's absence due to lingering Achilles tendonitis is most felt. He tied for the league lead in touchdowns from scrimmage last year (21) and hasn't played in any of San Francisco's five games this season.

“Everything is pretty tight,” Purdy said. “I just have to be better and more aggressive down there and just collectively as a unit. Once we get down there, we all have to have our attitude, man, we have to push through this. Obviously, we know we can settle for a field goal, but we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and cross the goal line.”

It's an issue, among many others, that the Niners know they need to address as quickly as possible. They will return to practice on Tuesday before traveling to Seattle. On Monday, San Francisco will take a closer look at the kickers, one of whom Shanahan said will need to be added to replace Moody for at least the next few weeks.

In other words, the reigning NFC champions don't have time to lick their wounds and wonder why this season got off to such a disappointing start.

“We would like to sit here and be angry and we would like to be able to do something about what just happened, but we can't,” Shanahan said. “Once these games are over, there’s nothing you can do. I'm telling the guys that next time we can do something on Thursday, and it's better to just wait until Thursday than wait until next Sunday.”