SF 49ers winners, losers from shocking win over Cardinals

Loser: SF 49ers Kicker Robbie Gould

Arizona shouldn’t have been in a position where it could have tied the game late with a minute remaining in regulation.

This wouldn’t have been the case if Robbie Gould made any one of his three missed kicks, two off-target field-goal attempts and a missed extra-point attempt. Right there, that was a swing of seven points, and any one of those would have made the point differential a two-score game.

Thankfully, the SF 49ers defense and offense picked up the slack for Gould and didn’t let the Cardinals tie or take the lead.

As far as Gould’s future, though, the Niners face a decision with the veteran’s option for 2021, which would cost more than $5 million next season against $3.75 million in cap savings, if San Francisco declines it.

Kyle Shanahan told reporters Gould’s misses won’t count in the decision-making process, citing the overall “body of work” in determining if the SF 49ers pick it up.

Considering Gould has a franchise-best 89.8 field-goal percentage with the Niners, Shanahan’s comments have some merit.

Still, Gould was flat-out bad in Week 16.