Bears' Jake Moody goes from cut by 49ers, to walk-off hero in a matter of weeks

Douglas Santo

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Bears' Jake Moody goes from cut by 49ers, to walk-off hero in a matter of weeks image

The Chicago Bears declared starting kicker Cairo Santos inactive just hours before Monday Night Football kickoff against the Washington Commanders.

That meant the Bears would rely on kicker Jake Moody for Monday night's contest, who they signed to their practice squad earlier this season and brought up to the active roster as Santos dealt with a thigh injury.

Moody's Bears' debut couldn't have gone any better, and he did so in less than ideal weather conditions. However, his play on Monday night showed just how amazing sports can be.

Jake Moody hits walk-off field goal

Moody was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers after a stellar college career at Michigan.

The Michigan product had a strong rookie year, making 84 percent of his field goals and 60/61 extra points. However, his second year in the league was a little rough.

The 49ers' kicker made just 70 percent of his field goal attempts in 2024, and missed 10 of his 20 attempts from 40-plus yards.

So, when Moody missed two of his three field goal attempts in Week 1 this season, the 49ers cut the kicker. That's when the Bears signed Moody to their practice squad.

Then, with Santos being inactive on Monday night, it was Moody's chance to kick again, and he took full advantage.

The Bears new kicker went 4-for-5 with three of his field goals over 40 yards, and the other being the game-winning, walk-off kick in the Bears' 25-24 victory.

The weather was cold, windy and rainy all night long, but that didn't stop Moody from performing the way he did in college for the Wolverines and in his rookie year with the 49ers.

Moody went from being cut after Week 1 of the NFL season, to being the hero on Monday night in the Bears' Week 6 win over the Commanders.

Now, Moody may put pressure on the Bears' coaching staff to make a kicking decision when Santos is healthy enough to return.

Douglas Santo

Douglas Santo is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. As a senior at Arizona State University, he will complete his B.A. in sports journalism with a minor in business in December 2025. Before his time with Sporting News, Douglas covered the NFL and MLB for Athlon Sports and contributed as a digital reporter for Arizona PBS/Cronkite News. He is also the head of Sun Devil Daily, managing all content produced about Arizona State Sports.