All in one kick. In a sport that is played with the hands, it is often the feet that decide the fate of a match, if not of a season. Better to use the singular: the foot, that of the <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/nfl-raiders-defeated-chargers-in-final-play-in-overtime/" title="NFL: Raiders defeated Chargers in final play in overtime”>kicker who must not tremble when he knows perfectly well that his kick will simply be decisive for the fate of his team. And one can only imagine how these two adverbs weigh on the shoulders of the player of an American football team.
The NFL Sunday that just ended is a clear synthesis of what was said above. The only undefeated, the world champions Kansas City Chiefs, won their ninth game out of nine played thanks to a failed kick by the Broncos and blocked by them after having struggled throughout the game.
Ditto for the strong Detroit Lions, another team likely to play until the end, where a kick between the posts resolved the match.
But where a sporting drama took place, with a happy ending for those who were called upon to kick, it was in Florida, the scene of the match between the Bucs and the 49ers.
Jake Moody, still wearing the glorious San Francisco jersey, said his confidence never wavered. Not even after a frustrated teammate confronted him on the sideline. An ugly scene.
Deebo Samuel, one of the stars of SF, also the protagonist of the successful series dedicated to wide receivers on Netflx, literally lost his mind when his team’s kicker missed the third kick of the match. He approached him and the long snapper, Taybor Pepper (who acted as a screen for him), threateningly, uttered unrepeatable words and was tempted to hit one of the two (if not both), an action that then vanished. All captured by cameras.
And who knows how it would have ended if the kicker at the end had not hit the posts from 44 yards, effectively certifying the success for the Niners over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season debut of running back Christian McCaffrey (obviously still far from his stellar standards).
“I really wanted to have one more chance to redeem myself,” said Moody, who in his return to action after being sidelined for three weeks with a sprained ankle also kicked field goals of 28 and 33 yards for the defending champions of the NFC.
“I felt really confident as I went to kick the decisive ball because I had seen what had happened with the previous kick and I felt like I could make a change so I didn’t fail again.”
And it went well, as mentioned, 3 key points after the kicker missed left from 49 and 50 yards and then right on a 44-yard attempt that would have given San Francisco a six-point lead with 3:09 remaining .
And when asked what feelings he had at that moment for Samuel or if he expected his apologies he replied as one should always do between teammates: “It was an emotional match and things like this always happen, I don’t expect any sorry, it’s something you just get over, we won and that’s all that matters. Like I said, in the heat of the moment, it happens.”
Same attitude from San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan who said he didn’t see what happened (difficult…). “The kids were frustrated, something probably happened… the brothers get into a bit of a fight. I didn’t see anything, so I don’t know how bad it was. It’s something I’m not too worried about. We’ll sort it out, if it’s not already solved. We will solve the problem on the plane and we will be as close as ever again.”
For the series: even on a football team, any dirty laundry is washed within the family. But kicking that ball is getting tough, isn’t it?
Results
CAROLINA 20 NY Giants 17 (OT)
New England 19 CHICAGO 3
KANSAS CITY 16 Denver 14
NEW ORLEANS 20 Atlanta 17
Buffalo 30 INDIANAPOLIS 20
Minnesota 12 JACKSONVILLE 7
San Francisco 23 TAMPA BAY 20
Pittsburgh 28 WASHINGTON 27
LA CHARGERS 27 Tennessee 17
ARIZONA 31 THE JETS 6
Philadelphia 34 DALLAS 6
Detroit 26 HOUSTON 23
