Sunday night against the Lions was a deja vu for Chiefs fans, who are running out of ways to process the 30-17 win. There was a chance to give Kansas City an early 7-0 lead over Detroit in the first quarter at Arrowhead Stadium. But Harrison Butker pushed a routine extra point wide left, his third missed PAT of the season. The ball sailed so far left that it missed the entire net. The 30-year-old has now spoken about his missed extra point.

“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. 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,” admitted the Chiefs Kicker.  And while he rebounded to nail his next two PATs, the early miss raised the same uncomfortable question:

What’s going on with one of the most reliable legs in football? The issue isn’t leg strength or mechanics; it’s timing. He’s been pressing too hard to find perfection, and in doing so, has lost rhythm.

It’s a rare kind of slump for one of the NFL’s most consistent players. The Georgia Tech alum has already missed three extra points and three field goals through six games, despite owning the fourth-highest cap hit among NFL kickers. His accuracy has slipped to 76.9%, with two of his three misses coming from long range beyond 50 yards. The third? A 40-yarder that sailed wide against the New York Giants back in Week 3. Butker blamed it on technique and mental error when asked by the reporter.

“I feel like it’s been a different technique issue through the whole year. Last game against the Jaguars, I felt really good—made all my extra points, but that kickoff was just a mental error. This game, I had a good warm-up, and the others were solid. That one at the very beginning just wasn’t me,” Butker admitted. That missed PAT wasn’t the end of his struggles, either.

A week earlier, his out-of-bounds kickoff versus Jacksonville gave Trevor Lawrence perfect field position for a game-winning drive. With 1:45 remaining on the clock, the mistake was as baffling as it was costly. After drawing a penalty and moving the ball up to Jacksonville’s 40-yard line, the Chiefs found themselves on the wrong end of a momentum shift. A 31-28 win over the Chiefs, leaving them 2-3. It’s been one setback after another—but through it all, coach Reid has defended his players.

Andy Reid is not worried about Harrison Butker

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid came to his kicker’s defense this week, brushing off the criticism.

“Like any golfer — sometimes you’re hitting it good and other times you’re off,” Reid said. “You work through it and keep swinging. He’ll do that. He’s a talented kid and mentally tough. I’m not really worried about him.” Special teams coordinator Dave Toub echoed that same message.

“He tried to get it to the right — that’s what we called. He just went a little too far right. We lost about 10 yards on that one, but we’re not going to let that define us,” Toub said. It’s good to see their determination, especially since Harrison has been a reliable kicker for the team.

He’s been one of their most dependable weapons through three Super Bowl runs. Last year, he was steady as ever, knocking down 21 of 25 field goals for an 84% conversion rate, right in line with his career average of 88%. Though this season has been a different story for him, the faith still lingers.