Novig prices
Chiefs keep Harrison Butker as kicker for Falcons game despite NFL-high seven misses
Andy Reid says Harrison Butker keeps the Chiefs' kicking job for Sunday at Atlanta, with Justin Tucker staying on the practice squad.
Harrison Butker is still the Kansas City Chiefs kicker, at least for one more week. Coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Butker will kick Sunday at Atlanta, and that Justin Tucker, who signed to the practice squad last month, will stay where he is, ESPN reported.
"I'm going to stick with Butker," Reid said, according to ESPN's Nate Taylor. Reid added that the team will take it week by week. That leaves the decision open again next week.
The decision comes after several days of uncertainty. Butker has missed seven field goals this season, more than any kicker in the league. The latest was a 51-yarder that went wide right just before halftime of Sunday's 35-12 win over the New York Jets, and Arrowhead fans booed him for it. After that game, Reid declined to commit to Butker or Tucker, saying he would sort it out during the week. ESPN counts 17 misses for Butker since the start of last season, 12 field goals and five extra points, the most of any kicker over that span.
The club has also made clear it is not ready to move on from a 10-year veteran who made several clutch kicks during the three Super Bowl runs. Butker took most of the practice reps over Tucker last week, and special teams coordinator Dave Toub said the staff believes Butker's technique problems can be fixed. Tucker, 37, has not played in an NFL game since 2024. He served a 10-game suspension last season under the league's personal conduct policy after misconduct allegations against him were made public.
What it means for Atlanta
Kansas City heads to Atlanta at 6-2. The Jets win ended a two-game skid that included a 20-3 loss at Seattle and a 28-24 loss at Denver. The Chiefs are 4-0 at home and 2-2 on the road this season. Kicking has already decided some of their games. Two of their wins came by three points, 33-30 over Indianapolis and 30-27 at Las Vegas. Even in the win over the Jets, Kansas City came away empty from long range.
The market sees this as a field-goal game. The Chiefs are favored across the 12 venues on this site's board. Novig has Kansas City at -174 on the moneyline and Atlanta at +170, and sportsbook hold on that market runs from 4.0% to 4.7%. The venues split on the spread. Novig hangs the Chiefs at -3.5 with a plus price of +111. The best Kansas City number anywhere is DraftKings at -3, priced at -120. The gap between those two lines is the hook on the most common margin in football, which is why a kicker's reliability matters here. On the Atlanta side, Novig's +3.5 at -115 is nearly level with bet365's +3.5 at -114.
The total sits at 47.5 on Novig, with the over at -102 and the under at -106. DraftKings has the over at 46.5 for -110, a point lower.
The following week brings Arizona to Arrowhead. Kansas City is a heavy favorite there: -1011 on Novig and -14 at DraftKings. If Butker struggles again in Atlanta, the kicking question will come up again before that game.