Harrison Butker is finally getting the respect he deserves
Harrison Butker, the Chiefs kicker, is absolutely on cloud nine right now. Yet again, Butker came in clutch and bailed out a somewhat struggling Kansas City Chiefs offense. This is the same man who sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl last season after the long-distance field goal against the Bengals. That was bettered by the game-winning kick against the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Butker put up another flawless display in the 19-8 win against the Denver Broncos. The 60-yard kick before half-time was the second-longest field goal of Harrison Butker's career, a kick from 50+ after the two-minute warning made it a two-possession game, and it was virtually game, set, and match.
Injuries hampered the Chiefs kicker in 2022 as he set a career-low 75% on field goals, yet he made the two biggest kicks of his career in the playoffs. Butker has yet to miss in 2023, 14-14 on field goals, and 15-15 on PATs. The 60-yard field goal from the Broncos game might have been good from two or three yards further out.
Patrick Mahomes, Matt Nagy, and Andy Reid do need to fix this offense as they're kicking far more field goals than you would expect. The Broncos have had one of the worst-ever defenses through the first five weeks, yet they held Mahomes to just one touchdown. If their offense had shown up, they may have won.
A safe pair of legs awaits the Chiefs when the game is on the line.
Harrison Butker is the best kicker in the NFL through first six games
Yes, the Chiefs and Broncos are the only teams to have played six games, as they played on Thursday Night Football. Brandon Aubrey, Chris Boswell and Nick Folk are the only kickers who join Butker as perfect on-field goals (minimum 10 kicks). Matt Prater and Jake Elliot are the only kickers who have kicked longer field goals in 2023 than the Chiefs kicker.
Justin Tucker, the undisputed GOAT kicker, and Younghoe Koo are the only two with a better field-goal percentage than Harrison Butker, who is at 89.0% for his career. So many of Mahomes' 15 career game-winning drives have been one-score victories, and that is where having a kicker who does not miss comes into effect.
This Chiefs team is so well-stacked at every single spot on the roster.