If the Kansas City Chiefs need to stick with their backup kicker in Week 3, they should feel comfortable doing so.
Harrison Butker sat out with an ankle injury in the Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on “Thursday Night Football.” The veteran was replaced by third-year NFL kicker Matt Ammendola, who was signed to the practice squad just last week. Ammendola was elevated to the 53-man roster from the practice squad ahead of the game and played 11 snaps on special teams.
While Ammendola needed assistance finding the Chiefs’ locker room ahead of the game, he needed no assistance finding his way on the scoreboard. He made a 19-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 in the third quarter. He then made a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give Kansas City a 10-point lead, which helped the team maintain a three-point lead in the game. Additionally, Ammendola was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points.
He wasn’t half bad in the kickoff game either, which is something he struggled with last season with the Jets. Ammendola had six kickoffs for over 300 yards in total distance. Four of them were touchbacks and two of them were returned for 42 total yards by Chargers WR DeAndre Carter.
This was about as flawless of a kicking performance as you could have as a backup kicker. While his distance certainly wasn’t tested, the Chiefs should feel comfortable and confident if they need to use Ammendola again in Week 3. The goal should be getting Butker as close to 100% as possible before they get him back out on the field again. It’s a little easier to do that when you can sign someone like Ammendola to come in and kick in a pinch.
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