The return of Harrison Butker last Sunday brought back a sense of normalcy to special teams for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6.
Butker immediately showed he was healthy by connecting on two of three field goal attempts, including the franchise record-setting 62-yard kick in the first half. Butker’s replacement for Week 4 and Week 5, Matthew Wright, set the franchise record against the Raiders. He held it for just a week before the former’s return.
Wright performed admirably in Butker’s absence, but he handed over the reins in Week 6. Butker revealed during Wednesday’s press conference, that after the Week 5 game, Wright made a prediction that his record wouldn’t last long.
“Yeah. It’s funny,” Butker began. “After the game, Tommy (Townsend) told Matt (Wright), ‘You should keep that ball that you made the 59-yard field goal with – get it painted – Chiefs record.’ And Matt said – funny enough – to him, ‘Oh, I’m not going to get that because Butker’s going to break it the next week.’ So, it kind of came true, and I was able to break that record, but it is funny. A lot of guys were saying to me about Matthew breaking the record in basically his second game here.”
Wright had bounced around with several teams since going undrafted in 2019. He quickly made an impression during his few weeks of service and was a motivation for Butker to return to the top of his game. Butker didn’t know if he’d have a chance to top the record in Week 7, but when the opportunity struck, he made the most of it.
“As a kicker, you can only do as best as you can with the opportunities you’re given, right? So, ‘Oh Matthew Wright broke the record,’ I can’t force (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub or (Head Coach Andy) Reid to put me out there for a longer field goal – that’s just kind of what the game provided me,” Butker said. “Tommy and James (Winchester) did a great job, and I was able to go hit it.”
For the Chiefs’ sake, hopefully, Butker will remain healthy this season and Wright won’t have a chance to retake the record.
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