Chiefs’ Kicking Woes Persist as Butker Struggles to Find Consistency

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — On Friday, the Kansas City Chiefs’ special teams coordinator, Dave Toub, addressed ongoing concerns regarding placekicker Harrison Butker‘s performance.

Butker, who opened the season with a disappointing 0-2 record, has missed at least one kick in every game, contributing to worries despite the team reeling off two consecutive wins. His struggles include missed field goals from 40, 56, and 58 yards, as well as two failed extra-point attempts.

During a news conference, Toub acknowledged the difficulties Butker is facing. “We’re going to keep working,” he stated. “He did make three out of four field goals on Sunday. He made all those extra points — 13 points total for the team. Those are all good.”

Despite showing moments of promise, Toub noted Butker is currently experiencing a slump. “Everybody sees it. We’re just going to keep working,” he added.

Toub expressed confidence that if Butker could deliver a flawless game, his performance would stabilize. “I haven’t had somebody go through something like this over a period of three or four weeks,” Toub said. “Usually, it’s just a couple of weeks — and then you come out of it.”

He explained that placekicking involves the entire team’s effort, citing the missed 56-yarder in Week 4 as an example of the pressure that affects performance. “Our blocking wasn’t great on that one play,” Toub recalled.

With league-wide changes to kickoff rules aimed at reducing touchbacks, some believe this adjustment may have impacted Butker’s field goal accuracy. Toub considered this possibility, noting, “How much time we spend doing that compared to field goals. But [Butker] spends a lot of time on everything.”

Regardless, Toub emphasized the importance of both kickoffs and field goals. “We’re trying to work through it,” he stated. “We don’t want to take away from that, because he’s giving us what we want there.”