49ers kicker Jake Moody awaits his hero’s moment like Eagles’ Elliott

SANTA CLARA — When Philadelphia kicker Jake Elliott lined up a 59-yard field goal attempt with 25 seconds remaining and the Eagles trailing the Buffalo Bills 31-28, Jake Moody was right there with him.

It was cold and rainy in Philadelphia Sunday as it had been all day. If Elliott missed the kick, the 49ers would be within one game of the top seed with the Eagles at 9-2 and the 49ers at 8-3. Make it, and the game went to overtime.

Elliott’s kick snuck inside the right upright — one of the greatest clutch kicks you’ll ever see — and the Eagles tied the game and went on to win 37-34 in overtime. The 49ers remained two games back of Philadelphia in the race for the top seed in the playoffs and home-field advantage through the playoffs.

“It’s a little brotherhood, I guess. There’s only 32 of us,” Moody said Monday as the 49ers began gearing up to visit Philadelphia for a titanic Week 13 matchup. “I’m never rooting for a guy to miss unless it’s against us. In that case, I really didn’t want them to win, so it stinks that he made it, but it was a great kick and props to him for coming through.”

Should the 49ers beat the Eagles, they’re one game back for the top seed with five to play. They would prevail in a tiebreaker should they finish with the same record. Lose, and it’s a steep climb and another potential title game in Philadelphia.

As evenly matched as they are, it’s conceivable a late field goal by one of the two Jakes could decide the winner. Elliott is a six-year veteran with a history of clutch kicks. Moody, a third-round rookie, somewhat controversially supplanted reliable veteran Robbie Gould, who never missed a postseason kick in his career.

If Moody were to convert an attempt even remotely similar to the one Elliott just made and beat the Eagles, he’d be the toast of the Bay Area. Miss it, and he’s a bum. Such is life as a kicker.

The weather in Philadelphia could be cold and rainy again. So Moody was watching closely as Elliott lined up for the kick.

“Especially with those weather conditions, you can’t let it get in your head,” Moody said. “Personally, my mindset on that kick would be just to smoke it. Don’t think about anything else. Give it the best chance it can have to get there, put your best foot on the ball and see what happens.”

If the 49ers-Eagles game is as evenly matched as it seems, special teams could be a deciding factor. That means Moody vs. Elliott. Punter Mitch Wishnowsky vs. Braden Mann. One of the Eagles’ top special teams players is Britain Covey, whose 14.8 average is among the NFL leaders in punt returns. Ray-Ray McCloud hasn’t had a return of more than 19 yards all season and had a fumble last week that was fortunately recovered by teammate Oren Burks in a 31-13 win over Seattle.

Yet the main focus will be on Moody, whose missed 41-yard attempt at the gun in Cleveland meant a 19-17 loss instead of a 20-19 win. He hasn’t had a similar attempt since, and Moody’s season stats (17-of-20 field goal attempts) aren’t hugely different from those of Elliott (19-for-21).

So Moody said he is hoping for the kind of field goal Elliott just converted. He’s confident enough in himself, but wants the organization and the fan base to be confident as well.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Moody said. “I’ve been having little kicks here and there, but nothing too important I guess you could say. I’m looking for the chance to prove to everybody I belong on this team and that the Browns kick was, I don’t want to say a fluke, but it’s not who I am.”

Sunday’s games included misses by kickers who have been pretty much automatic — the Raiders’ dead-eye Daniel Carlson missed from 30 yards, shorter than an extra point attempt, and potential Hall of Famer Justin Tucker was wide left from 44.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. Sometimes you miss kicks and that’s how it goes,” Moody said. “I want to show I’m not the guy who misses important kicks.”

Moody wasn’t the only one paying close attention to Philadelphia’s game-winner against Buffalo. Long-snapper Taybor Pepper, who also snapped for Gould, was watching as well.

“I was watching it because (Eagles snapper) Rick Lovato and I know each other. I was watching Rick and how he was getting ready and watching the slow-motion replay,” Pepper said. “The best part of that kick was how awesome the operation was, how those guys are all pretty tenured and tried-and-true.”

After Elliott’s approach, Pepper had his doubts.

“When it was the in the air I was like, ‘I don’t know if it’s going to go in or if it was going to go wide right,’ because I think he kind of angled it to start with and the wind kind of took it,” Pepper said. “It was impressive and he’s a great kicker.”

Originally a Bengals fifth-round draft pick out of Memphis who didn’t stick in Cincinnati, Elliott is part of the argument for everyone who questions whether it was wise for the 49ers to use a third-round pick on a kicker.

In the end, Moody couldn’t begrudge a fellow kicker for coming through when it mattered.

“It was an insane kick,” Moody said.