2025 was hardly a banner year for longtime Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. He missed five field goals (the second-most in his career) and converted a career-low 88.6-percent of his extra point attempts. But if you ask him, the struggles had less to do with his own decline and more to do with rule changes.
Speaking to the media this week, Butker said that his efforts to hit "knuckleballs" on kickoffs as a result of the kickoff rule changes might have affected his field goals. He said that he had to change his approach to kickoffs in the middle of the season and it likely helped with his accuracy in the second half of the year.
“Field goals matter the most,” Butker said. “Trying to hit those knuckleballs and the funny kickoffs maybe affected the field goals a little bit. I think halfway through the season last year I said, forget the kickoffs — not forget the kickoffs — but I’m just gonna hit a high hang time ball, good location, just focus on the location. I’m not gonna hit a low line-drive knuckleball. And I think that’s helped my field goals because it’s the same foot-to-ball contact. Good foot-to-ball contact on the field goal and just do the same thing on the kickoff rather than having two different swings. So that helped me the second half of the season and I’m sticking with that for training camp and this season.”
The proof is in the putting.
Butker missed three field goals and two extra points in the first four weeks of 2025 then only two field goals and two extra points for the rest of the season after that. He still went on to finish fifth in both field goals made and field goals attempted.
The Chiefs in 2026
Kicking is far from the top of the list of things the Chiefs have been worrying about this offseason. Between Patrick Mahomes' knee, depth at wide receiver, aging defenders and a heap of money spent in free agency, fans have more pressing concerns this offseason.
The team certainly doesn't seem to think it's a problem since they didn't even bother signing someone to compete with Butker for the job.
Perhaps a better season awaits him in 2026.
