For a team as dominant as the Kansas City Chiefs, a .500 record deep into November is uncharted and uncomfortable territory. They are in a position they haven’t been in for most of the Patrick Mahomes era: desperate. And according to NFL legend JJ Watt, that desperation needs to turn into a winning streak, immediately, if they are really serious about qualifying for the playoffs.

“Probably six of their next seven. Because the tiebreakers aren’t in their favour either right now. So they need to go on a very big run very quickly,” Watt said on the November 19 episode of The Pat McAfee Show when asked about the Chiefs’ record and way forward.

However, he also showed his confidence in them, claiming they can come back even from this dire situation. The Chiefs currently sit at 5-5. So, as Pat McAfee highlighted, their winning streak has to start in Week 12 against the Colts.

“This (Week 12) is like a playoff game for the Kansas City Chiefs. And I have always been a very, very firm believer in the Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Andy Reid, Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), Toub (Dave Toub), (Brett) Veach, you name it. I just think they are great for a reason. I respect greatness,” Pat McAfee added.

Patrick Mahomes has never been in such a situation since becoming a starter. Yet no one can doubt his greatness and the sheer talent to win games. It goes back to his first season in the NFL when he took notes from quarterback Alex Smith. The Chiefs were 7-6 when they entered the Week 15 game in 2017 against the Chargers, who also had the same record.

Smith won the game for them. In the end, the Chargers failed to qualify for the playoffs as Mahomes won the season-ending game, the only one he played in his rookie year. It improved their record to 10-6, while the Bolts finished with a 9-7 record.

This year, the Chiefs have slipped to 9th place in the AFC playoff picture. They have a 1-2 division record with a 2-4 conference record. But out of the next seven games, they have three games against their divisional rivals and three against the conference rivals, except for the Week 13 Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys from the NFC East.

Smith can also give some strategies he and head coach Andy Reid used back in 2015, when they went on a 10-game winning streak after losing five games in a row. But first, they need to calm down the locker room, as, just like fans, they are frustrated, too.

Patrick Mahomes has to assert his leadership over his teammates

There’s no doubt that Showtime is a leader of his men. But sometimes, you have to take command and assert discipline. Mahomes needs to do exactly that. Tight end Travis Kelce does not like the way they have played this year.

“Bunch of flags all over the place, whether it was, procedural penalties, which is the f—— most frustrating thing ever, or holding penalties,” Kelce ranted after losing the Week 11 game against the Broncos with a last-second field goal. “…It’s frustrating because we’ve gotten to the point where we are 5-5…It’s even more frustrating knowing the kind of guys that we have, the talent that we have, knowing the type of coaches that we have. Everybody’s gotta just kind of look at themselves in the mirror.”

Kelce even refused to talk to reporters despite becoming the Chiefs’ touchdown leader. It was heartbreaking!

Everyone anticipated them to win as they arrived in Mile High with a 4-0 record when referee Adrian Hill and his crew officiated games between the divisional rivals. Yet, they lost 69 yards in 10 penalties and ultimately the game itself. They have committed 6.9 penalties per game, ranking them 17th among 32 teams.

The alarm bells are ringing for the Chiefs. As JJ Watt claimed, Patrick Mahomes needs to bring out his greatness era once again. And it has to be quick. Each loss will bring out more cracks in the locker room.