Did missed kicks matter for Niners in a game that didn’t?

You say the Niners game Sunday didn’t matter, unless you bet the Rams, who were 2½ point underdogs (and won).

Or if you’re a 49ers rookie placekicker who suddenly couldn’t get the ball through the uprights. Perhaps. But it at least was somewhat unnerving, even with the top seed in the playoffs previously clinched.

True, it did matter for the Rams, who moved up a notch in the postseason seedings and after the comeback 21-20 victory at Levi’s Stadium, could face the Niners once more in two weeks. 

This time? No Christian McCaffrey, no Brock Purdy, and no Deebo Samuel for San Francisco, those guys taking a rest as the 49ers took no chances getting them hurt in the regular season finale. That was expected. Unexpected was Jake Moody missing an extra point for the first time after going 60 for 60 and also missing on a 38-yard field goal attempt.

“He never missed one all year,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said, defending Moody’s failure after the Niners’ second touchdown. “He’s done a hell of a job.”

That is correct, but so is the comment by former Niner Donte Whitner on Sunday’s post-game TV show, that the pressure builds in the playoffs, and a miss now very well could lead to a miss then—and elimination.

Not that Shanahan was likely to dwell on Moody’s fall from perfection, even though in the end it was the reason the Niners ended regular play with a defeat and a 12-5 record. 

Sam Darnold was the Niners quarterback and was effective enough to provide new hope that if something happened again to Purdy, knocked out of the playoffs last year by that elbow injury, Darnold would keep things going.

The irony, of course, is Darnold was a first-round selection by the Jets, who eventually traded him to Carolina, while Purdy was a final-round pick—last overall, “Mr. Irrelevant”—by the 49ers.

Purdy was on the scene Sunday, just not in uniform, although he did work out with his teammates before kickoff.

The best part of having the top seed in the conference and the bye in the first round of the playoffs is the opportunity to rest players who have been pounded and battered from September. The worst part, some say, is getting out of the weekly pattern.

The Niners, with Shanahan and numerous veterans, should be able to stay the course. They’ve been through the grind, dropped three straight games, then followed with five straight wins.

“Our goal was to get the No.1 seed,” Shanahan said “We did, and it was weird this past week, but I like how our guys handled it. A number of guys got better through the year. We still feel our best football is forward.”