Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker working through recent missed PAT issues. Here’s how
Chiefs coach Andy Reid isn’t worried about it and neither is special teams coordinator Dave Toub.
“It” would be kicker Harrison Butker’s recent issues with missed extra points, including two in consecutive games.
Knowing he has Reid and Toub’s support carries significant weight for Butker.
“It means a lot knowing that they have confidence in me,” Butker said. “Obviously, I want to make every kick and do my best, but I don’t take being here for granted, I don’t take every game for granted. I’m blessed to be in the NFL, blessed to be part of the Kansas City Chiefs and I’m working every day to do my job.
“Whether it’s 2017 and I’m going on that streak or now when I’m missing some extra points, every day I’d like to think I’m working just as had to get better and be the best kicker I can be.”
Butker is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s top kickers. The fourth-year pro recorded 426 career points in his first three seasons to establish an NFL record for the most points through three seasons. Butker also holds numerous kicking records, including most points for a rookie kicker (142 in 2017) and made extra points in a season (65 in 2018).
Butker has proven to be one of the best clutch performers at his position and garnered an AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award, the fourth of his career, in Week 2 following a three-field goal performance, including a game-winning kick from 58 yards.
But for all the success, kicking a point-after-touchdown has been a slight problem in 2020, especially considering the fact that Butker entered the season averaging 96 percent on such attempts.
Now, he sits on a 79.2 extra-point percentage after converting 19 of 24 chances through seven games.
Some have wondered if there are chemistry issues between Butker, rookie punter/holder Tommy Townsend and long-snapper James Winchester during the Chiefs’ PAT attempts.
“I’m pleased with everything,” Toub said. “I mean, I think Tommy’s really stepped in and done a good job. There’s nothing wrong with the hold, and the snaps are good. Winchester is snapping as good as he ever has.”
Butker, ever an analytical sort, believes he knows what is going wrong this season and accepts responsibility.
“Looking back at the tape, I think the biggest issue with the PATs except for one has been where I’m starting the kick,” Butker explained. “So, the one in Buffalo, that was kind of an outlier.
“I started that right and stayed right, but the other ones have all been balls that have been tailing to the left and even that field goal against the Ravens. I just have to have a good line. I need that ball to come out exactly where I’m aiming and unfortunately I have missed those extra points and a lot of them have been left.”
With the perceived problem identified, the Chiefs’ special teams unit has returned to a standard routine for standard field goals and applying it to the point-after-attempt as a possible solution.
Butker appears to embrace the change from kicking the ball straight away from the middle of the field following a touchdown.
“One thing we have changed up is attempting some of the extra points from the hashes to hopefully recreate the field-goal type of feel,” Butker said. “The majority of my field goals in my career are all on the hashes. It’s rare that you have a running back that gets tackled in the middle of the field on third down and fourth down and you kick it from the middle of the field. I do think I do better on the hashes.”
And given what he knows now after reviewing what went wrong with some of his recent PATs, Butker hopes his problems are in the past.
“It’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it and you don’t improve it,” he said.
And that attitude is good enough for his coaches.
“We’ve got total confidence in Harrison Butker on what he can do going forward,” Toub said.
