Getty Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
One of the clutch performers for the Kansas City Chiefs in their 42-36 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills during the Divisional Round of the playoffs was kicker Harrison Butker.
Butker, with three seconds remaining in regulation, nailed a 49-yard field goal to tie the game up and send the two teams into overtime. The rest is history.
Harrison Butker. Ice. Cold.
He sinks the 49-yard field goal as time expires to bring this game to overtime.
That kick by Butker was one of the most clutch field goals he’s made during his five-year career. However, it wouldn’t have happened without what he described as a “blessing” earlier in the game, or what the rest of us would refer to as:
a missed kick.
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Butker’s Missed FG Set Him up for Success
After the Chiefs’ offense drove down the field 43 yards on six plays just before halftime, Butker was called upon for a 50-yard field goal attempt with three seconds remaining in the half. However, he did not make it. But that’s okay. Why? Because Butker claims it set him up well for what would be the game-tying field goal that sent the game to overtime.
“I think it was actually a blessing. When you have a missed kick, you’re able to kind of think about what you need to change, what you need to adjust,” Butker said of his missed field goal before halftime during his press conference on Monday, January 24. “I thought the 50-yard left hash that direction, I adjusted my aiming point too much, kind of deviated a little too much from the game plan I kind of had in warm up.
“After that missed kick, I kind of hit myself on the butt and said that I just need to stick with the game plan I had in the warmup and that’s what I did for the 49-yarder. So, I almost had like a practice kick with the miss and was able to bounce back and take what I could from the miss and help me for the 49- yard left hash same direction.”
Butker finished the game making 3-of-4 field goal attempts, nailing them from 39, 28, and 49 yards, respectively. He also extended his own franchise record for postseason field goals to 14 with the three made attempts against Buffalo. The veteran kicker also made 3-of-4 point after attempts.
Despite missing the field goal attempt from a similar range in the first half, head coach Andy Reid had the utmost confidence in his kicker to tie the ball game as time expired in the fourth quarter.
“No, ultimate trust in But. He’s done so well for the years that he’s been here,” Reid said during his press conference on Monday, January 23 of any conversations he may have had with Butker after his missed field goal. “Every once in a while, you’re going to have a clunker or two, whether it’s the snap, the hold, the kick—there are a lot of things that go into it. But we have the ultimate trust in him coming back, and we showed it coming right back to him. We knew points were important, and no more important than with three seconds left in the game.”
Chiefs Host Bengals for AFC Title Game
With another win in the books, the Chiefs now advance to the Conference Championships, when they will face the Cincinnati Bengals on GEHA at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bengals won their Divisional Round matchup against the Tennessee Titans 19-16 on Saturday, January 22.
Kansas City faced the Bengals most recently in Week 17 when the Chiefs lost to the Bengals in Cincinnati 34-31. In that game, Cincy QB Joe Burrow threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase also caught 11 balls for 266 and three touchdowns that day.
The AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Bengals will take place Sunday, January 30 at 2 p.m. Arrowhead Time.