Harrison Butker made NFL history on Sunday and he did it even though he’s on injured reserved. Going into Week 13, Butker was the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history, but he’s now jumped up to the top spot and he made the move even though he didn’t play.
That’s right, Butker, who hasn’t played since Nov. 10, now has the highest accuracy rate on field goals in NFL history after the two kickers in front of him — Justin Tucker and Eddy Pineiro — both faltered on Sunday.
The title for most accurate kicker actually changed hands multiple times during a wild day of action that saw both Pineiro and Tucker miss two field goals. Heading into Week 13, the NFL’s all-time accuracy list looked like this:
1. Pineiro: 89.74%
2. Tucker: 89.37%
3. Butker: 89.21%
During the first half of Carolina’s 26-23 loss to the Buccaneers, Pineiro went 2 of 4 on field goals, which caused his accuracy rate to take a hit. On the other hand, Tucker went 2 of 2 in the first half of Baltimore’s game against Philadelphia, so he overtook Pineiro as the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Here’s what the record book looked like on Sunday when Tucker and Pineiro were heading out for the second half of their respective games.
1. Tucker: 89.42%
2. Butker: 89.21%
3. Pineiro: 88.43%
The third quarter ended up being a disaster for Tucker, who missed two kicks in the period with one coming from 47 yards and one coming from 53.
By the time the third quarter was over in Baltimore, Tucker had handed the title of NFL’s most accurate kicker over to Butker.
Here’s what things looked like after the third quarter:
1. Butker: 89.21%
2. Tucker: 89.03%
3. Pineiro: 88.43%
Tucker never got a chance to redeem himself in a game that Baltimore ended up losing 24-19. Tucker missed a career-high three kicks (two field goals, one extra point) in the five-point loss. As for Pineiro, he hit a field goal in the fourth quarter to help give his accuracy rate a slight bump.
By the time both games went final, Butker held the crown as the NFL’s most accurate kicker:
1. Butker: 89.21%
2. Tucker: 89.03%
3. Pineiro: 88.52%
In one of the most bizarre kicking days in NFL history, a total of three kickers held the title of most accurate NFL kicker ever.
Butker has been on injured reserve since Week 11 and he’s not eligible to return until Week 15, so he’ll likely be keeping the record for at least one more week, if not longer. Assuming Butker doesn’t play in the next few weeks, Tucker would have to hit his next eight field goals without missing to overtake the Chiefs kicker. As for Pineiro, he’d have to hit seven straight field goals without missing to overtake Butker as the most accurate kicker in NFL history.