Bill Belichick has just fired a playoff warning shot in the direction of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

But in a nice way.

The iconic Belichick – well-known for his gruffness – is in a way showing a caring side here as the Chiefs, having secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a bye in the postseason, have had ample rest to ready for their weekend debut.

Belichick’s niceties?

“Well, look, it’s great to be a 1 seed,” Belichick said via ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show. “Congratulations to Kansas City and Detroit for winning the playoff game last because that’s effectively what happened. They move on to the next round without even having to play, and that’s a great situation.”

But … yes, there’s a “but.”

The former New England Patriots coach, now in charge at the University of North Carolina (a move we still find stunning), knows first-hand what it’s like to have that bye … and of course what it’s like to win multiple Super Bowls.

So, that “but” …

“But,” he added, :I’ll say this: When your the No. 1 seed like those two teams were, you have the least amount of predictability on who you’re going to play. So, if any of the wild card teams win, you can play them, whoever the lowest seed is. If all the wild card teams lose, then you play the lowest, then you play the lowest division seed. So you can end up playing a four, five, six or seven seed based on how the weekend comes out.

“I’d say from that standpoint, there’s less predictability on who you’re going to play as the No. 1 seed.”‘

Well, yes. And thanks, Coach, but … don’t we all know that? Doesn’t Chiefs coach Andy Reid know what it takes to earn the No. 1 seed and then what to do with it?

After all, over his time, Belichick earned the top seed seven times.

And guess how many times Reid has earned it? Seven times.

And one more thing: The Chiefs the Texans in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT. So Belichick’s “mystery of the unknown” is kinda solved.