Andy Reid Sends Clear Message to Kansas City Chiefs’ $25.6 Million Kicker After Costly Night

Andy Reid demands improvement from Chiefs kicker© X formally Twitter

Seattle's defense did most of the damage on Sunday night, but the Kansas City Chiefs also left points on the field. Harrison Butker pushed one field goal short and sent another wide right in a 20-3 loss, and both came when the Chiefs badly needed a score. Andy Reid kept his answer brief afterward. Butker blamed warm-ups. For a kicker who has long ranked among the league's steadiest, this season has turned bumpy, and the Seahawks game made it harder to ignore.

Harrison Butker field goal misses against the Seahawks

Nohl Williams intercepted Sam Darnold late in the second quarter and returned it to Seattle's 44, with under a minute left and the Chiefs down 10-0. Kenneth Walker III gained four yards. Butker then tried a 58-yarder that fell short.

The second miss hurt more. With a little over eight minutes left in the fourth, Patrick Mahomes had steered the offense to the Seattle 27, and Butker's 45-yard attempt drifted right of the posts. Seattle scored a touchdown on its next drive to stretch the lead to 20-3, and the Chiefs later gave the ball back on downs.

Reid did not dress it up.

“He's been one of the most consistent kickers in football,” Andy Reid said after the game, via AtoZSports' Charles Goldman. “He's off a bit, so, got to fix it.”

Butker said the trouble started before kickoff.

“Warm-up wasn't great,” Butker said after the game, via KMBC News 9. “It's just something that you have to roll with and try to fix it in the game and do the best that you can.”

Andy Reid on Harrison Butker's up-and-down season

This was not his first miss of the year. Against the Los Angeles Chargers, in a 22-6 Chiefs win, he pulled a 52-yarder with 11:51 left while Kansas City led 19-6. The score made it easy to shrug off, and Reid did.

“I've got trust in Harrison,” Reid said. “That's the best I can tell you. He'll fix whatever the problem is. He'll fix it and get it taken care of. He works like crazy at that.”

The totals show a slide. Butker had hit 10 of 13 attempts before facing Seattle, a 76.9% rate that was his lowest since 2022. The Chiefs locked him in through the 2028 season with a four-year, $25.6 million extension, so they are betting on a quick return to form.

Butker, for his part, sounds like a man who has made peace with the odds.

“Life of a kicker, it either goes in or it doesn't,” he said of his recent misses. “Unfortunately, there's been some kicks that haven't gone in.”