Jake Moody's replacement is already off to an ominous start with 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers opted to make a substantial admission of failure after Week 1, finally giving up on their 2023 third-round NFL Draft pick, kicker Jake Moody, in the wake of titanic struggles over the second half of last season and then subsequently going 1-of-3 in the Niners' regular-season opener.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch both acknowledged Moody lost his confidence and it was time to make a change.

So, San Francisco responded by grabbing one of the most accurate kickers available on the free-agent market, veteran Eddy Piñeiro.

Piñeiro might not be known for having the biggest leg, a tradeoff from Moody's power, but the former is known for accuracy, which the 49ers needed to prioritize after Moody's notable misses.

Unfortunately, the new kicker's debut in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints didn't exactly get off to the best start.

Eddy Piñeiro misses 1st kick as member of 49ers

Scoring was hard to come by early in the Niners' trip to NOLA, but that ended when quarterback Mac Jones (filling in for an injured Brock Purdy) found backup tight end Luke Farrell for the latter's first career touchdown.

All good, yes. But that left Piñeiro out there to kick the extra point.

And the specialist missed:

That slice is certainly Moody-reminiscent, and it won't ease concerns of Niners fans everywhere.

Hopefully, it's just the proverbial "yips," and Piñeiro is able to get back on track in a hurry. In light of offense not being a part of the first half, the game could easily end up being decided by less than three points, a missed kick or something.

Fortunately, Piñeiro's extra-point percentage is 92.1 percent entering the game, so at least his prior history suggests the early miss is just an anomaly.

Otherwise, San Francisco might still be feeling the Moody blues even with a new kicker in uniform.