The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t walk out of Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals with multiple touchdown drives. They instead saw their veteran kicker take control of the game and supply consistent points on their second-half drives.
During his postgame press conference, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker shared his thoughts on his fantastic performance and staying focused after bad outings.
“Going into any game, I say, you know there is going to be 10 possessions, and there is going to be an extra point or field goal in every possession,” Butker said. “I get my mind ready for a lot of kicks, whether you get that many kicks or not.
“You have to stay ready and locked in. It has been easy for me in the past to make field goals and then relax. I think I have had a good game, and I probably won’t get any more. I thought I did a good job this game staying locked in and focused for any opportunity that came.”
Butker hit on all five field goal attempts, accounting for the last 15 points of the game. The veteran kicker said the previous week’s miss didn’t affect his confidence heading into the New Year’s Eve matchup.
“It felt great,” Butker said. “You know you make 13 in a row and are feeling on top of the world. You feel like you are in a great rhythm. You miss a makeable, easy kick in New England and another makeable kick [the next week against the Raiders]. I am sure you could see in my emotions last week against Las Vegas. Those are just gimme kicks that, unfortunately, you miss. I just pray for God’s will to be done on every kick. So sometimes on kicks, you say, ‘All right, God, you wanted me to miss for some reason.’
“Even today those last two, I don’t know how they went in, but they did. I work very hard, but when you get the opportunity in front of 80,000 fans, you are playing in front of a big international audience, and the kick happens in 1.3 seconds. It just happens so fast. I am so grateful for the successes and also misses and losses. I am just thankful to be in this position and the six kicks to be going through. Not me, God taking care of it.”
Butker’s ability to make kicks in pressure situations has immortalized him in the league’s history. He will again be needed this postseason, and Sunday’s performance was the perfect preparation.
