Toub and Butker’s track records give them the benefit of the doubt.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense is currently at the forefront of their struggles so far this season, but their kicking game on special teams is lacking as well. That falls on the shoulders of veteran kicker Harrison Butker.
Since entering the league in 2017, Butker has been one of the best at his position. He owns multiple NFL records, including the most field goals made by a rookie with 38, most career field goals made in Super Bowl history with nine, and longest field goal ever made in a Super Bowl at 57 yards.
Unfortunately, Butker is off to a rough start in 2025, missing at least one kick in every game so far. He is 7-9 on field goal opportunities, with misses from 40 and 58 yards. Butker has also missed two extra point attempts.
While speaking to the media on Thursday, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub detailed what he is working on with Butker to get him out of his rut.
“We’re assuming right now that it’s just a small little thing,” Toub said. “It’s technical. We look at the tape and we see, it’s unusual for him to miss right. You know. It’s got to be his ball contact. We got to work not harder, but smarter in practice. He doesn’t need to do more, because he does a lot already.
“If anything, we need to cut down what he does and get more specific on making sure that the contact is good and the rotation of the ball and the fundamentals are down. You go back, you go back to scratch, you evaluate it, you talk about it, you look at the tape, and you build your confidence back.”
Given Butker and Toub’s track records, they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt that they’ll work it out. However, with how tough the Chiefs’ schedule is and them being in an early 1-2 hole, they’ll need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Toub went on to say that he’s never had a kicker be in a slump for too long.
“Haven’t had too many guys that had a long slump,” Toub said. “Hopefully this week is the start of a new streak, a good streak. That’s what we always look at. It’s always about the next kick. I haven’t had too many guys that had a slump over a three or four week period.”
