News Article
Published
Oct 26, 2026 at 07:48 PM EDT
Kansas City Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker had a night he'd like to forget when he missed two of his three field goal attempts in the team's 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 7.
Butker came up short on a 58-yard attempt in the closing seconds of the second quarter. He made a 50-yard attempt in the third quarter but went wide right on a 45-yard attempt in the fourth quarter when the Chiefs were trailing 13-3. The miss cost Kansas City an opportunity to make it a one-touchdown game with 8:33 remaining.
During Monday's episode of "First Things First" on FS1, Nick Wright suggested that Butker's decline as a kicker came alongside his activism in religion and politics.
More News: Exclusive: Breakout NFL Executives Who Could Become Future General Managers
...
More News: 4 QBs Generating Serious Trade Buzz Weeks Before NFL Regular Season Starts
"Listen, he started splitting his time between football and activism, and he hasn't been quite as good," Wright said. "That is just the timeline of it. He is also an older player... that is one of the important parts of the Chiefs' dynasty."
Wright thought the Chiefs should have gone for it on 4th and 3 from the Seahawks 27-yard line instead of letting Butker attempt the 45-yard attempt.
"It was nice to see him hit the 50-yarder," Wright said. "He did hit, but I wasn't shocked when he missed the 45-yarder. It's one of the reasons I thought Andy should have gone for it."
Butker, 31, has made 68.8% of his field goal attempts this season and 93.3% of his extra point attempts. In 2023, Butker made 94.3% of his field goal attempts, prompting the team to make him at the time the highest-paid kicker in the league on a four-year, $25.6 million deal before the 2024 season. Months before signing the new deal, he made his famous commencement speech at Benedictine College.
Butker made 84% of his field goal attempts in 2024 before slightly improving to 86.8% in 2025. He was the NFL's scoring leader in 2019 when he scored 147 points.
For more on the Chiefs and the NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.