While the San Francisco 49ers try to re-assemble their mental state after injuries have decimated the squad in the first six weeks of the season, they can do so confident in their third phase on special teams.

Without question, Eddy Pineiro has been one of the most valuable players for the 49ers. He is 15-of-15 on field goals this year since joining San Francisco in Week 2, with four over 50 yards and a long of 59-yards. Pineiro is responsible for 52 already for the Niners.

However, it was good to see success on Monday night come from the guy he replaced in Jake Moody, who was basically picked off the scrap heap following his failed stint in the Bay Area. Moody kicked the game-winning field goal for the Chicago Bears in his first game in uniform, ultimately going 4-of-5 on the night.

That was more promise in one contest than Moody showed towards the end of last year and in his one game for San Francisco this season. Frankly, it shows how psychological the position of kicker is and how a change of scenery truly can be the revitalization a player needs.

Once a kicker starts to see ghosts, it’s hard to shield them from that. Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t make the easy decision, but it was the right one. He’s one of the better coaches at not falling into the sunken cost fallacy with former draft picks after selecting Moody in the third-round of the 2023 NFL draft.

It was clear that if Shanahan didn’t make that early call, Moody may end up costing them games. With how this season has unfolded, that margin for error is slimmer than anyone thought.

Meanwhile, Pineiro has become the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history since joining the 49ers with an 89.4 field goal percentage through six years in the league. He’s already tied Robbie Gould in 2017 for the most consecutive field goals made in their debut season with San Francisco per Dan Dempster of NBC Sports Bay Area.

If the Niners are somehow able to pull themselves to a playoff finish, it’ll undoubtedly be as a large result of Pineiro. Though Moody was still crucial for the Bears on Thursday, his missed field goal was a brief memory of the inconsistency he showed from 2024 until his last game for San Francisco.

However, it’s nice to see Moody succeed – just frankly, it’s relieving that it’s elsewhere.