The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of one of the most thrilling postseason victories in recent memory last weekend, defeating the Buffalo Bills in overtime 42-36. It was a complete team effort, but one of the Chiefs’ key components to advancing to the AFC Championship for a fourth straight season under Head Coach Andy Reid was kicker Harrison Butker.
On Monday, during the team’s usual media availability, Butker spoke to reporters to relive the final 13 seconds that led to Kansas City forcing overtime thanks to a 49-yard field goal.
“As a kicker, I try to be ready for every moment whether that’s the first series, extra point, or the last series, game-tying kick to go to overtime, so, every kick is a big kick. And I have to prepare for every series like I’m going to have a big kick, and if we have the ball, I need to be ready to go,” Butker explained. “Obviously, when it’s only 13 seconds, you know you’re going to be up really fast so, I got as many kicks as I could in the net, got with Tommy [Townsend], and got some holds with those kicks in the net and just got prepared and got my mind mentally ready to go out there and make the kick that we needed to go to overtime.”
Before nailing the 49 yarder that kept the Chiefs alive at the end of regulation, Butker missed a 50-yard attempt from the same spot in the first half just before half-time.
Butker referred to the miss as practice for the kick that forced overtime at the very end.
“You know, I think it was actually a blessing, you know? When you have a missed kick, you’re able to kind of think about what you need to change, what you need to adjust. I thought the 50-yard, left-hash, in that direction, I adjusted my aiming point too much and kind of deviated a little too much from the game plan,” he recalled.
“I kind of had in the warm-up and after that missed kick, I kind of hit myself on the butt and said ‘I just need to stick with the game plan,’ like I had in the warm-up, 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,” he explained.
Butker’s career-long is 58 yards set back in 2020, and the furthest he’s kicked from this season was from 53. So the Chiefs’ coaching staff had an idea of where they needed to be in order to give their kicker a chance. Butker was asked if he told Dave Toub where he wanted lineup to kick the game-tying field goal.
“I didn’t,” he started. “You know, our ‘line‘ for both directions, that game was the 35-yard line so, a 53 yarder, but [special teams] coach [Dave] Toub, he knows my range and knows if I needed to, I could probably hit a 60,” he said. “I think in warm-ups, we hit maybe 56 or so, and [coach Toub] knows there’s adjustments I can make to lower the ball, change my technique a little bit to get more yards on it so, I’m sure even if it was a 60 yarder, I’m hoping I still get to go out there and potentially make it,” he explained.
The Chiefs have been to the AFC Championship in each of the last four seasons, and Butker has been with every one of those teams since signing with Kansas City back in 2017. That kind of postseason experience is valuable for a kicker when the situation calls for a kick in the most significant moments, and blocking out the mental jitters is essential. For Butker, going into full robotic mode helps relieve the magnitude of some kicks.
“You know, I try to be like a robot,” said Butker. “Every kick is a big kick, and I have different mental cues that I go through, and I have different things I do on the sideline to prepare me for each kick,” he explained. “As a kicker, the more you start thinking about the magnitude of the kick and what’s on the line, well, is that going to help you make the kick? Probably not. So, I think [about] what can I do right now, in this moment, to help improve the chances of me making this kick? I can work on my steps, I can go through metal queues, I can make sure my ball contacts good, and in the net, I can visualize the ball going through, I can do all those things and then go out there and give it my best shot,” he said.
Finally, Butker touches on what makes the Chiefs’ locker room unique as the team becomes the first to host four consecutive conference championships.
“I think it’s a close-knit group,” Butker said honestly. “It definitely has the feel from 2019, I think. We have a lot of special guys. Everyone’s playing super loose. I don’t think there’s any fear or doubt in anybody, the chemistry has been great, and I think another thing that’s been important is we faced a lot of adversity throughout the season,” he recalled.
“Some of the losses and the close game losses and then even through the playoffs, I mean this past game, I think all those different challenges that we’ve faced and have been able to overcome are important to making a championship-caliber team.”
Kansas City will welcome second-year quarterback Joe Borrow and a scrappy Cincinnati Bengals club that has clawed their way on an unexpected postseason run. Kansas City previously lost to Cincy back in December. The Chiefs will look to avenge that setback from Week 15 to advance to Super Bowl 56.
One thing is for sure, Harrison Butker will be there when the team needs him the most.
