49ers overreactions: Does team need Gould after Moody's crucial miss?

The 49ers’ fan base got a taste Sunday of what boosters of nearly every other NFL team have already experienced this season.

The 49ers were not only beaten. They were beaten by an inferior team.

And it looked as if they were exposed in a 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

In reality, that is just life in the NFL.

The 49ers are still a good team. There’s no question about that.

However, they are far from a perfect team, as evidenced by their now-imperfect win-loss record.

We will try to sort out some of this with this edition of 49ers Overreactions:

We need to get Robbie Gould back! (Bill H.)

Overreaction? Yes.

It’s still way too early to tell with Jake Moody.

But after being perfect on field goals and extra points in the 49ers’ first five games, his two misses were costly in the team’s loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Robbie Gould, 40, remains without a team. He still intends to be kicking somewhere. That opportunity has yet to materialize.

At this point, it’s difficult to predict if he will find his way back in the NFL with a contending team.

And it is doubtful to happen with the 49ers . . . unless there are at least a couple more days like Sunday.

The 49ers felt the time was right this offseason to part ways with Gould.

The 49ers made the decision to select the kicker they had rated at the top of the 2023 rookie class. Moody was their guy all along.

In going with a young kicker, the 49ers believe they have a guy who will increase the range on field goals, account for more touchbacks, have a lower cap number and has a chance to be the long-term kicker.

They also knew there might be a day or two like they experienced Sunday in Cleveland.

Too much Dallas celebration, not enough getting to the business of Cleveland. (Rich S.)

Overreaction? No.

The 49ers have a very professional locker room. They managed to find faults with their 42-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys with what Fred Warner described as a very honest film-breakdown session after that dominating performance.

That said, I do not think it is without merit to accuse the 49ers of spending too much time basking in the glory of that victory.

There is no doubt the 49ers took their Browns preparation seriously, but it seemed as if it was not at the same level of focus and intensity as the Dallas week. And that might also have something to do with the outside noise entering the building.

Fans and media spent longer than usual showering the 49ers with praise from their Week 5 win over the Cowboys. There were probably more questions asked about Dallas last week than about Cleveland.

Did that have any impact on the 49ers’ performance on Sunday? Probably not. But, hey, perception has a way of becoming reality.

The 49ers can’t win without CMC on the field. (Art F.)

Overreaction? Yes.

The 49ers were a very good team before Christian McCaffrey’s arrival a year ago.

He made them an even better team, for sure.

McCaffrey has scored a touchdown in 15 consecutive games. Many — if not, all — of those touchdowns would have been scored by someone else if McCaffrey were not with the team.

On Sunday, the 49ers could have easily — and should have easily — beaten the Browns. And if Moody’s kick had been a couple yards to the left, the 49ers would have beaten Cleveland without McCaffrey playing the entire fourth quarter.

Shanahan should've ran one more play at the end to get us a little closer for the FG. We had 1 timeout. (Tay P.)

Overreaction? Yes.

The 49ers were already in field-goal range for what should have been a straightforward, simple kick.

To reference the topic of the above statement, if McCaffrey had been available, coach Kyle Shanahan might have decided to hand the ball off to McCaffrey to pick up a few extra yards.

However, I believe Shanahan did not want to take any chances that Cleveland defense could rip the ball away from Jordan Mason and prevent the 49ers from even lining up for the winning kick. He did not say that part.

Shanahan said he wanted to kick on third down to leave enough time and a timeout for the unlikely scenario of a mishandled snap.

I have no problem with how that sequence unfolded. Is a 38-yard attempt (at the risk of a fumble) so much better than a 41-yarder?

At the time it occurred, it looked as if the bigger mistake was the handling of the offensive series when the 49ers took over, leading by one point, with 3:21 remaining.

The 49ers ran three pass plays. They completed just one of them, and Brandon Aiyuk was pushed out of bounds short of the first down. It was a three-and-out, the Browns used no timeouts, and Cleveland got the ball back with 2:56 left in the game.

Shanahan explained that his intention was not to call three consecutive pass plays. A mistake was made on first down that prevented Purdy from being able to hit Aiyuk as the hot read against a Cleveland blitz.

When Purdy was called for intentional grounding, it put the 49ers in a position where they had to throw in order to make up some yardage and have a chance to convert on third down. Shanahan said his focus was more on getting a first down than running down the clock at that point in the game.

In retrospect, because the 49ers did not run more time off the clock, it allowed them plenty of time to drive into field goal range in the final seconds.

Our defense isn't as good as we thought. (Jalene R. M.)

Overreaction? No.

The 49ers’ defense is very good. It is one of the best in the league.

But, you’re correct, the consensus among the media and fan base probably has the team’s defense ranked a bit higher than where it deserves.

The addition of Randy Gregory appears like a good move for the 49ers. He is already the team’s second-best outside pass rusher. He saw more snaps in his 49ers debut than Drake Jackson.

That should strengthen the biggest weakness on defense. Now, the 49ers have to make sure they are not more susceptible to run plays on the edge, as was the case on Sunday.

On Sunday, the Browns looked like the stronger defense despite facing a 49ers’ offense that had strung together 30-plus-point performances on a weekly basis.

Brock proved he DOES have what it takes. He was clutch in the end. (Michael G.)

Overreaction? Yes.

We understand your point: As poorly as Brock Purdy’s stat line looked coming out of this game, he did enough when the pressure was on to lead the 49ers into position for the game-winning kick.

In re-watching the game, the 49ers missed some opportunities earlier in the game for big plays. Aiyuk could have made a couple of big catches. And Purdy could have been more accurate on several throws down the field, including one to McCaffrey.

Also, there were plenty of mistakes with players not in their designed spots which made it even more difficult for Purdy to succeed.

The bottom line is this: Whatever you thought of Purdy before this game should be the same opinion you have of him today.

He had a bad game. Every quarterback has these types of games.

In the end, he did his part to lead the 49ers to the winning points. It just did not work out this time.

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