Harrison Butker puts one of Chiefs’ biggest postseason nightmares to bed

The kicking game for the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL postseason has come a very, very long way.

Once upon a time, the kicking game was a nightmare for the Chiefs Kingdom during the playoffs. When they faced the Indianapolis Colts in the 1995-96 divisional round, they’d lose the game 10-7 after Lin Elliott missed a trio of makeable field goals with the longest being a 42-yarder.

“The Kicker Who Shall Not Be Named,” they called him.

Nowadays, the kicking game is an incredible boon to the team during postseason play. It’s all thanks to Chiefs veteran kicker Harrison Butker, who has now appeared in 16 career postseason games, tied for the second most in franchise history. Only Travis Kelce and James Winchester have appeared in more postseason games.

Against the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Butker set a franchise record for the most field goals made in a single postseason game with four. He broke his own record in doing so, with four separate postseason games with three field goals made. The most impressive part about all of it is that Butker accomplished this feat in subzero temperatures and with 20 mph wind gusts. The conditions were about as far from perfect as they could be for the kicking game, yet it didn’t matter.

Butker is among the best postseason kickers in NFL history
Butker is also chasing some NFL history as well. With just two points scored in the divisional round of the playoffs, Butker is aiming to pass a Pro Football Hall of Famer in terms of points scored.

Check it out:

Should he score those two points needed, only five kickers in NFL history would currently have more postseason points scored than Butker.

Adam Vinatieri (238)
Stephen Gostowski (212)
David Akers (175)
Mason Crosby (163)
Gary Anderson (153)
Keep in mind that Butker is the only one of these NFL players currently active.

The 28-year-old may even go on to finish his NFL career holding the No. 1 spot. For now, he’s taken something that was once a blemish in postseason history and turned it into a beacon of consistency.