Getty Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (#7).
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has struggled to consistently make field goals this season, and that was evident once again during Kansas City’s 27-24 win over the division-rival Denver Broncos in Week 17. With the playoffs right around the corner, fans appear to be sick and tired of watching Butker be a part of special teams lapses on what feels like a weekly basis.
In the victory at Arrowhead Stadium, Butker lined up for a 51-yard field — which would end up being his only field goal attempt of the game — with five seconds left in the first half with the score 13-10 in favor of the Chiefs.
Butker missed the field goal wide left, and it would go down on the box score as a blocked kick.
Blocked kick or just a bad kick? You be the judge.
Butker was also part of a failed point-after attempt following Kansas City’s first touchdown of the game in which punter Tommy Townsend botched the snap and tried to make a play with his legs. Even though it was not Butker’s fault, it was yet another mishap in the kicking game that will be linked to him.
After the game, Reid was asked about the botched PAT and said very little about it.
“That ended up not being so good,” Reid said during his postgame press conference.
This season, Butker is making 73.9% of his field goal attempts, which is by far the lowest percentage of his career (89.3% was his second-lowest ever, which was during the 2021 season).
Fans React to Butker’s Missed Kick vs. Broncos
Even though the blocked kick and botched PAT in Week 17 weren’t necessarily Butker’s fault, he took most of the blame on Twitter.
“Are we ready to have the Harrison Butker conversation yet or are we gonna wait until he loses the chiefs a playoff game?” Andrew Wegley of the Lincoln Journal Star wrote.
Are we ready to have the Harrison Butker conversation yet or are we gonna wait until he loses the chiefs a playoff game?
“There is a better than slight chance that Harrison Butker is going to lose this team a playoff game,” another user wrote.
There is a better than slight chance that Harrison Butker is going to lose this team a playoff game.
“When is it ok to start saying that Harrison Butker is unreliable?” another user wrote.
When is it ok to start saying that Harrison Butker is unreliable?
“Might need to have a conversation about Harrison Butker’s position as the kicker,” another user wrote. “He’s shockingly mid this year. Understand he’s dealt with an early season ankle injury, but this is really surprising futility on his part.”
Might need to have a conversation about Harrison Butker’s position as the kicker. He’s shockingly mid this year. Understand he’s dealt with an early season ankle injury, but this is really surprising futility on his part.
Chiefs Can Still Reclaim AFC’s No. 1 Seed
The Chiefs defeated the Broncos 27-24 in Week 17 to improve their record to 13-3.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 29-of-42 pass attempts for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns against Denver. He also had an end zone interception in the first half. In that game, Mahomes became only the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in multiple seasons, per PFF.
Mahomes’ top pass catcher vs. the Broncos was running back Jerick McKinnon, who caught 5 passes on 6 targets for 52 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. McKinnon now has 8 touchdowns (7 receiving, 1 rushing) over the last 5 games, per Pro Football Reference.
#Chiefs RB Jet McKinnon puts on the spin move☝️and picks up 28 yards on the pass from Patrick Mahomes. #ChiefsKingdom
The leading rusher for Kansas City was rookie Isiah Pacheco, who ran the ball 9 times for 31 yards and also had a five-yard rushing touchdown in the first half.
The Chiefs’ defense forced two turnovers on Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson by way of a fourth-quarter interception by cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and a strip-sack by rookie Trent McDuffie late in the second quarter.
Turnovers continue to be an issue for Kansas City, as the Mahomes interception and a fumble by Kadarius Toney on a punt return gave extra opportunities to Denver, which was part of why the score was close through all four quarters. However, some key plays on defense along with enough chunk plays on offense gave the AFC West champions their second win over Denver this season.
On 4th & 2, #Broncos QB Russell Wilson is swarmed by the #Chiefs pass rush & forced to throw an incompletion. Turnover on downs with 1:19 left in the game. #ChiefsKingdom #BroncosCountry
With another win in their pocket, the Chiefs need the Buffalo Bills to lose on Monday Night to the Cincinnati Bengals or in Week 18 against the New England Patriots for Kansas City to reclaim the No. 1 in the AFC.
The Chiefs close out the regular season with a road game against the 6-9 Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, January 7.