For years, the Kansas City Chiefs could trust Harrison Butker to get the job done. Unfortunately, that may no longer be the case. Like so many great kickers before him, he may have entered the backend of his prime.
Butker's miscues have cost the team multiple times this season already. That's why the fans are getting tired of hearing Andy Reid and his coaches make up excuses or have his back. According to Chiefs insider Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports, that was the case again on Thursday.
Chiefs Coaches Hung Up on Butker’s Practice Success
"Chiefs Special Teams coordinator Dave Toub says that K Harrison Butker has been making his field goals in practice: 'It's just about focus and really dialing in on the short ones and getting that consistency back, game in and game out,'" wrote Goodman.
Of course, it's always nice to see that he's doing well, and it would be much more worrisome if he had been struggling in practice as well. Then again, that's pretty much meaningless if he's not doing his job when he's in actual games.
Once an accurate and reliable placekicker, the controversial Butker has now missed three of his 14 field goal attempts. He's also missed three PATs, and is in the midst of the least accurate season of his career.
Season | Field Goal % | Extra Point % |
|---|---|---|
2017 | 90.5% | 100.0% |
2018 | 88.9% | 94.2% |
2019 | 89.5% | 93.8% |
2020 | 92.6% | 88.9% |
2021 | 89.3% | 95.9% |
2022 | 75.0% | 92.7% |
2023 | 94.3% | 100.0% |
2024 | 84.0% | 93.5% |
2025 | 78.6% | 82.4% |
Those struggles have, of course, extended to kickoffs too. His Week 5 penalty gave the Jacksonville Jaguars great field position at their own 40-yard line, and they marched down the field to score a game-winning touchdown. That may have been the end of the line for most kickers on most teams, but clearly, the Chiefs have plenty of appreciation for him after all these years and the Super Bowl runs.
To be fair, Butker's résumé with the organization should definitely get him some goodwill, but that can only last for so long. This team has Super Bowl aspirations, and as such, they need to be on point in all three facets of the game: Offense, defense, and special teams. They can't afford to have any of their pieces holding them back over and over.
We already saw them go for it deep into the opposition's territory after he missed a PAT against the Detroit Lions, so confidence in him might be wavering. And if this becomes a trend and the Chiefs need to make a move, they should have more than enough suitable options to replace him.