The Kansas City Chiefs are used to depending on Harrison Butker in critical moments. For years, the veteran kicker has delivered clutch performances and game-winning kicks that helped define the Patrick Mahomes era.
But halfway through the 2025 NFL season, Butker‘s reliability has come into question as his accuracy continues to falter and the team’s confidence in him may be waning.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub addressed the issue this week, insisting that Butker‘s recent slump is not the result of an injury or mechanical breakdown. Instead, he believes it’s a matter of confidence.
“Dave Toub says the struggles are all mental with Harrison Butker,” NBC’s McKenzie Nelson wrote on X.
Toub elaborated further, explaining that he’s chosen to give his kicker space rather than micromanage his recovery process.
“I let him figure it out. As soon as he missed it, he knew exactly what happened… you don’t need to sit there with him,” Toub said.
The veteran coach emphasized that Butker has performed well in practice, yet those clean reps have not translated to game-day consistency.
His current statistics paint a grim picture: a career-low field goal percentage of 78.6 percent, ranking 24th in the NFL, and an extra-point rate of 82.4 percent – the worst among kickers with more than five attempts.
A mental battle for one of the NFL’s most trusted legs
For a kicker who has built a reputation for composure under pressure, Butker‘s slump has come as a shock. Once considered one of the league’s most dependable specialists, he now finds himself struggling to find rhythm and confidence.
Despite the frustration, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has continued to voice his support publicly.
“I’m a big Harrison Butker fan,” Reid said, according to A to Z Sports’ Charles Goldman. “I know how that thing goes. The first one, he didn’t hit very good, the PAT, then he came back strong and finished the rest of the night. We’re all human.”
Butker himself has acknowledged his struggles and taken responsibility for the recent misses. After the team’s win over Detroit, he reflected on what went wrong.
“Obviously, like you said, six straight weeks of a missed kick or a penalty like the Jaguars game… not good enough, not what you’re looking for,” Butker admitted. “The first kick, I think I just rushed myself… started too early, was too aggressive to the ball, and didn’t really even give it a chance.”
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