Harrison Butker enjoys resurgence in second half of Chiefs season

Harrison has regained his position as one of the NFL’s best kickers after some early misses in 2020.

After struggling at the beginning of the 2020 season, Harrison Butker’s performance was scrutinized by many. He has quickly overturned that sentiment and showcased why he is one of the best kickers in the league.

Throughout Harrison Butker’s time in Kansas City, he has been concrete in making both his extra points and field goals. From 2017-2019, he made 138/145 PAT’s and 96/107 field goals. He established himself as one of the best kickers in the league, but at the start of the 2020 season, his once definitive kicking prowess seemed to dwindle.

Through the first nine weeks of the 2020 season, Butker missed six extra points, making 27 of 33 attempts. This included a stretch in weeks’ 2-4 where he missed an extra point in three straight games. Since the Chiefs’ bye in Week 10, Butker has been flawless and made 18/18 attempted extra points.

Even while struggling with PAT’s, Butker remained extremely accurate on his field goals throughout the entirety of the season. He has only missed two field goals, which were in Weeks 3 and 9, putting his season total through 16 weeks at 25 of 27 field goal attempts made.

Not only has Butker been making his field goals, but he has made them when it counts. He hit a 58-yarder for the win in overtime against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. He also gave the Chiefs 15 of their 22 points in a win against the Denver Broncos, with his five made field goals in week 13.

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Alongside his clutch performances, Butker has also been consistent from long range. In 2019, he made 3/6 attempted 50+ yard field goals, while this year he has made 4/4. Therefore, there is actually an argument to be made that he has improved from distance since last year.

At the beginning of the season Butker was still getting used to his new holder, Tommy Townsend, which could have been part of the reason for his early season struggles. Nevertheless, Butker has fixed whatever issues he was previously facing and has yet again showcased why he is one of the most valuable kickers in the NFL.

The start of the season may have been cause for concern, but Butker has found his stride and is back to being a kicker that the Chiefs are very fortunate to have. Talk about the Chiefs’ kicker that took place throughout the first half of the season has since faded away, and now the only topic of conversation concerning Butker is how he’s quietly one of the league’s best at the position.