So many close games, so many close wins. Are the Kansas City Chiefs lucky, or is there any divine intervention behind this? Putting this aside, those wins are still raising questions about the Chiefs’ future. Of course, sitting at the top of the table looks pretty, but they’re not getting such chances in the playoffs and Patrick Mahomes knows it very well.

The former NFL coach of the Buffalo Bills and the Jets, Rex Ryan, took a dig at the Chiefs and has no faith in them as the playoffs approach: “I’ve seen teams like this before … They get beat in the first round,” Ryan said on the Sunday NFL Countdown.

Ryan has a valid point given the last minute wins that Chiefs have landed. Their Week 2 win against the Bengals (26-25), Week 9 overtime win against the Buccaneers (30-24), and last game against the Raiders (19-17) have all been close wins for the team. And with the Bengals and the Raiders both having down seasons, it raises some questions about how well the Chiefs are playing.

Given the way the Chiefs are playing, ex-coach Ryan thinks the back-to-back champs might get knocked out in the first round. Well, it’s early to say if we look at their last season’s performance. They had a few struggles in their winning causes — yes, but eventually they qualified for the playoffs and later defended their title.

As the legendary NFL coach, Chuck Noll had said, “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing.” and Mahomes must be feeling it now. Now the Chiefdom would want him to prepare himself and know what he must do to bring out the best in himself and the team. And if his words are anything to go by, the QB is seeing the gaps clearly.

Patrick Mahomes confesses on the Chiefs’ game play

Who knows how the team is playing better than the leader himself? A QB like Mahomes knows exactly where the team needs to improve for future success. After the victory over the Raiders, the QB confessed, “We don’t feel like we’re playing our best football. Too many mistakes. We gotta clean that up to get where we wanna go.”

That’s what the fans wanted to hear and the Chiefs still have time to clean that up. Mahomes played a crucial role in their Week 13 victory, having a 56.5% completion rate in 306 passing yards and 1 TD. However, the win isn’t enough for the Chiefs, improvement is for what lies ahead.

Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs are sitting pretty at 11-1 and are almost certain to clinch a playoff berth. A win against the Chargers next week could confirm it, but Mahomes and co. would want to look out for the improvement they require for defending their title. After all, they are setting their eye on the elusive 3-peat, they can’t afford any misses when the playoffs are almost knocking at their door.