A Historic Kick That Won't Count
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker delivered one of the most memorable moments of the NFL preseason on Saturday night, drilling a 69-yard field goal just before halftime in the Chiefs' matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The kick, which came on the final play of the first half, gave the Chiefs a 9-0 lead and sent teammates, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, into celebration.
But because it was a preseason game, the kick will not go into the NFL record book. The regular-season record for the longest field goal remains 68 yards, set by Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little last November against the Las Vegas Raiders. Multiple outlets noted the irony that Butker's kick would have topped that mark had it come in the regular season.
The kick itself was remarkable for more than its distance. Reports noted that the ball cleared the crossbar with plenty of room to spare, leading some to speculate it might have been good from well over 70 yards. NBC Sports reported the kick as the biggest highlight of the preseason, while CBS Sports described it as "wildly impressive," noting the ball hit the net behind the goalposts.
Butker had also made kicks of 45 and 58 yards in the first half, adding to the spectacle.
A Game to Forget for Kansas City
Despite that standout moment, the Chiefs went on to lose the game 16-15, and Butker's performance overall was a mixed bag. He missed a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and an extra point after a penalty nullified his initial try. Reports described the missed extra point as a 43-yard attempt after a Jared Wiley penalty, and Butker's attempt hit the upright.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed Butker's misses after the game, expressing confidence in his veteran kicker. "I trust him. That happens. He'll learn from it and move on," Reid said, a quote carried by multiple outlets. "He's made enough of the big ones for us. He's just got to make it. He'll make an adjustment there." Butker himself was critical of his own performance. "You've got to make your kicks," he said. "Miss an extra point, miss a game-winner. That's what I care about, not the 69-yarder or whatever it was." He acknowledged that he struggled mentally on the missed attempt, adding, "Maybe I need some more caffeine for the second half."
The Historic Context
The 69-yard kick put Butker in rarefied air, but it didn't break any official records. Cam Little holds the preseason record with a 70-yarder in the 2025 preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As Bleacher Report noted, Little's preseason record is the longest known preseason field goal, but his kick did not count toward the regular-season books.
Butker's kick was among only a handful in history from that distance. CBS Sports reported it was just the third field goal of at least 69 yards in a game at any level, including Little's 70-yard preseason kick and Ove Johansson's 69-yarder in 1976, which was made with a kicking block before the block was banned.
Butker's own career long in regular-season was 62 yards, set in October 2022 against the Buffalo Bills, a franchise record. He also holds the record for longest field goal in Super Bowl history, a 57-yarder in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Kicking Game's Evolution
The growth in long-distance kicking has been a league-wide trend, and the NFL appears to be abetting it. Multiple outlets reported that a new K-ball rule, allowing teams to break in their own footballs, has added five to 10 yards to kicking attempts, making long field goals more common. The NFL average field goal attempt distance reportedly grew to 40.5 yards in 2024, and statistics show a clear increase in 60-plus-yard makes.
Data from the 2024 and 2025 regular seasons have not been fully equivalent, but the trend is stark: Between 1960 and 2014, there were only 14 field goals from beyond 60 yards in the NFL. Now, kicks of 60 yards are becoming routine, with kickers like Brandon Aubrey of the Cowboys and Cam Little part of a new generation.
The league has also changed the kickoff rule to dynamic positioning, which can push starting field position forward. Falcons defensive coordinator Vic Fangio compared the increased kick distance to the "steroid era," and anonymous special teams coordinators have joked that kickers are just getting stronger. But the K-ball rule remains a lightning rod and debated, with Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons predicting the distances will "continue to just skyrocket" as long as the rule stands.
The Chiefs have seen Butker's misses in the preseason, and his coach is not panicked. Andy Reid also spoke about the team's broader desire to win, even preseason games, after a loss that stretches back to August 2023. "It's America. You want to win everything you do," Reid said. "We just got to eliminate some of these mistakes."
As the Chiefs head into their next preseason matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on August 28, they will look to break a streak of eight consecutive preseason losses. The 69-yard kick is a highlight that does not change the final score.
But for now, it remains a monument to how far the kicking game has come.