Harrison Butker missed an extra point after the first touchdown of Christmas Day. It appeared as though the Kansas City Chiefs did not trust their kicker to execute from beyond 40 yards from that point forward.
A bizarre mechanical flaw seems to be the root of his problems.
Butker underwent arthroscopic surgery to trim down his meniscus in the middle of November and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. Prior to that point, he made 18 of his 20 attempts and only missed once from beyond 50 yards. He has only tried three field goals since his return. None of the three attempts were from 50 yards or longer.
Butker missed once from 29 yards against the Browns and also missed a (48-yard) PAT against the Steelers on Wednesday. In addition to the missed extra point, Kansas City later decided to punt on 4th-and-11 from the Pittsburgh 40-yard-line during the first half instead of kicking a field goal. It would’ve been a 57-yard attempt.
Andy Reid did not give Butker the chance to kick when he normally would. But why? A major tweak to his technique continues to be an issue and it likely caused the knee injury earlier in the season.
Watch here how Harrison Butker kept his plant leg straight on this 62-yard kick in 2022:
Harrison Butker from 62 yards at the end of the half! #ChiefsKingdom
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022
📺: #BUFvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/lvvR5va9SF pic.twitter.com/lNjojkPobE
That was two years ago. Now look at how Butker collapsed his plant leg and fell to the ground back in September of this season:
Harrison Butker has collapsed on his left knee following through EVERY kick this season.
— Drew Butler (@DrewButler) November 14, 2024
It is a change in his technique that really caught my attention, and unfortunately it’s not surprising his left knee needs a meniscus procedure.
Hope he gets healthy. https://t.co/DsSVrKmFuz pic.twitter.com/1szLcRzQea
That form continues to be an issue. His knee buckles on the follow-through.
It is unclear as to why Harrison Butker made this unusual change to his technique. However, it seems to be causing him trouble on field goals of at least 40 yards. He tried a 32-yard kick during the second half and did not have an issue but Andy Reid did not give him the chance for anything longer!