KC Chiefs: Harrison Butker has become a liability

This game marks the 6th game in which Butker has missed a field goal in the 2022 season and his FG% currently sits at 78.9% which ranks 29th in the NFL

The Kansas City Chiefs have experienced a lot of struggles on special teams this year, and special teams coordinator Dave Toub has been under a lot of fire from fans due to his units performing poorly.

While most of the problems on special teams start with turnovers, field goals and extra points have also been an issue this season as kicker Harrison Butker has been having possibly his worst season as a Chief.

Following a close win over the now 1-12-1 Houston Texans in overtime, the spotlight, for better or worse, has been put on Butker once again as he missed both an extra point and a field goal which would have won the game.

This game marks the sixth game in which Butker has missed a field goal in the 2022 season and his FG% currently sits at 78.9% which ranks 29th in the NFL among kickers. It’s a concerning trend as it seems Butker is due for a critical miss every other game now.

Sometimes, like Sunday, the Chiefs are able to get away with Butker’s misses, but far too often this year, Butker’s misses have directly contributed to losses for the Chiefs. For example, Butker missed important field goals against both the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, two games that were decided by 3 and 4 points, respectively.

This isn’t the first time Butker has had issues either. In 2020, he missed 6 extra points and really struggled that year on chip shots, but most people didn’t mind as he was nails from 50+ yards and could convert clutch field goals when the Chiefs needed them. Well, now he’s having trouble with those. In 2022, Butker is 3-5 from 50+ yards and has missed two more from 30-39 yards and 40-49 yards. While Butker hasn’t been too bad on extra points, he’s still missed two which puts him at 23rd in XP% among kickers and the problem seems to keep coming up again.

To put it bluntly, Butker has become a liability this year. The Chiefs need to change the way they think about him when it comes to these late-game situations like today because the reality is he can’t be depended on like a guy that is automatic in game-winning situations or from 50+-yard scenarios because he just hasn’t shown that ability this year. He’s been far too inconsistent.

When the Chiefs played for the field goal toward the end of regulation against the Houston Texans, they started going conservative with their offensive play-calling because they felt good about Butker winning the game for them there. Unfortunately, for the second time in three games, Butker let them down from that range. Luckily, it didn’t cost the Chiefs the game as they won in overtime.

It’s certainly possible that Butker is still suffering from the ankle injury he sustained in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals that caused him to miss four games, but we’re pretty far out from that injury at this point. It’s possible his injury requires offseason surgery instead and he’s just toughing it out. Additionally, former Chiefs punter and holder Dustin Colquitt chimed in on the Butker situation and says the holds have been a problem from punter Tommy Townsend.

Townsend pushed back on that notion, however.

Colquitt would probably know more than most, but you would think this issue would be addressed by either Butker or Dave Toub if he was getting what he thought were bad holds. Despite Butker’s struggles, it’s not like he has us yearning for the days of Matthew Wright and Matt Ammendola. The Chiefs don’t have a better option than Butker right now.

Regardless, Butker has no doubt been a problem for the Chiefs and the Chiefs need to treat their approach like they don’t know what their kicker can give them from week to week. As for what this all means for Butker, he’ll either need to improve quickly (or hopefully this is all injury-related and he gets a pass). Otherwise, you can expect the Chiefs to bring in some competition for Butker next year in camp.