Harrison Butker takes responsibility and blames himself for the Chiefs' loss: “I just completely missed the ball”

H arrison Butker offered no excuses after his missed kick became a turning point in a defeat to the Denver Broncos , making clear that the responsibility rested with him as the Kansas City Chiefs kicker said the attempt was simply a poor piece of execution.

With Kansas City leading late in the fourth quarter, Butker pushed a 54-yard field goal wide right, and Denver capitalized almost immediately by scoring the touchdown that put the Broncos ahead 28-24 and left the Chiefs chasing the game.

Rain had begun falling by the time Butker lined up from a relatively far distance, but he rejected the suggestion that the weather explained what happened as he shook his head and described how he messed the moment up at the Empower Field at Mile High .

“Might have been one of my best weeks of practice. Justin's been great,” Butker said, referring to Justin Tucker , who had joined Kansas City 's practice squad. “But it doesn't matter. When I say bad miss, I just completely missed the ball.

“Didn't even give it a chance, so that one just felt really bad and not good enough, obviously."

Chiefs turn to Justin Tucker as Butker’s struggles continue

The admission comes amid a season in which Butker has missed six field goals in seven games as his latest failure followed two missed attempts against the Seattle Seahawks , prompting the Chiefs to bring in Tucker after previously sticking with their established kicker.

And Andy Reid explained that Kansas City had assessed three candidates before choosing Tucker but the coach declined to detail the club's investigation into the allegations that led to his suspension.

Instead said the organization had spoken to multiple people before making its decision to bring the former Baltimore Raven onboard after he served a 10-game suspension after sexual misconduct allegations were made by 16 massage therapists.

“So he's done his suspension, you know, and take care of that business there. I'll leave it at that for ya,” Reid said when questioned about the signing whilst he added that the Chiefs had considered what had happened since the allegations emerged.

Reid also made clear that the decision was not intended to signal a personal falling-out with Butker as the coach said the player understood the business decision and acknowledged that the kicker had to respond on the field.

“He understands the business and how it works and we had a practice squad position open,” Reid said. “And so for security, we brought [Tucker] in and put him in that spot we had open.

"Butker gets it. He knows that's part of this business. He's struggled a little bit and he gets it. He needs to pick it up here a little bit."