49ers loss shows McVay and Rams must prioritize special teams

Rams must prioritize special teams after what happened to 49ers in Super Bowl

It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Rams struggled on special teams throughout the 2023 season. They weren’t just bad on that unit as DVOA had them as one of the worst special teams groups of all-time. The Rams lost games to the Baltimore Ravens because of special teams and it can be argued that they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers due to missed field goals that gave short fields. They also almost lost to the New York Giants late in the season due to the coverage unit on special teams.

However, the Rams didn’t lose on the biggest stage due to a special teams gaffe. While they lost by one-point to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs, it wasn’t because of a missed extra point and the special teams unit did their job. The same cannot be said for the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers arguably lost the Super Bowl due to mistakes on special teams. In the third quarter, it was a muffed punt that gave the Chiefs a short field in the red zone. On the first play, Patrick Mahomes hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the end zone for a touchdown. The Chiefs had been struggling on offense up to that point and that score ended up being the only touchdown for Kansas City until the game-winner in overtime. That touchdown also gave the Chiefs their first lead of the game.

That wasn’t the only special teams mistake, however. The 49ers actually answered that score with a 12-play touchdown drive of their own. The issue was that rookie kicker Jake Moody missed the extra point as it was blocked. Instead of being up 17-13 and the Chiefs needing a touchdown to take the lead, the blocked attempt kept it a three-point game. That special teams mistake kept the possibility of overtime as an option. The 49ers arguably could have won 20-16 with Mahomes and the Chiefs offense coming up short of the end zone at the end of regulation. Instead, the game went to overtime and the rest is history. Now, Moody did make two long field goals, but it was the blocked extra-point that ended up being costly and a big difference in a close game.

The two biggest mistakes for the 49ers came on special teams and it was those two mistakes that cost them their first Super Bowl championship in 29 years. Coming into the season, the 49ers drafted Jake Moody in the third-round. While Moody was mostly good this year, the Super Bowl wasn’t the only time that he cost the 49ers this season. Early in the year, Moody handed the 49ers their first loss when he missed a 41-yard field goal at the end of the game against the Cleveland Browns. He also had a miss in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings that would have made a five-point game a two-game on the final possession. They invested in a rookie kicker and it ended up costing them, despite spending a third-round pick.

San Francisco only ranked 25th in special teams DVOA this season. Contrarily, the Chiefs ranked sixth.

If anything, it’s a reminder for Sean McVay and the Rams that they need to prioritize special teams this offseason. It’s understandable not wanting to pay a Matt Gay the price tag that he was looking for last year in free agency. At the same time, there needed to be a plan in place instead of spending the entire season shuffling through kickers. It didn’t cost the Rams this year in what was a re-tooling season. Still, as the 49ers showed, it can cost you when it matters the most. Los Angeles must find a reliable kicker this offseason and find some stability as the returner position as well. Over the next two years, the Rams will be pushing for a Super Bowl title. They don’t want a special teams gaffe to cost them when they are competing for a Lombardi Trophy.