Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce does not see his team’s season the same way that most of the detractors do.

The Chiefs are 6-6, a record that currently leaves them four and a half games out of first place in the AFC behind the New England Patriots (11-2), who are on a bye this week. That record has Kansas City as the No. 10 seed in the conference, which will send seven teams to the playoffs in January.

Yet Kelce has been defiant in his messaging that the Chiefs remain as good as they have been over the last three seasons, all of which ended in the Super Bowl and two of which ended in championship rings. He said as much earlier this week ahead of Kansas City’s crucial game against the Houston Texans.

“I’m sure everyone is sick of us saying it, but we’re a few plays away from being a one seed in my mind,” Kelce said. “It’s crazy that you watch the film and you see what’s real. And what’s real is we’re that [expletive] close.”

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GettyTight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Close is not something the Chiefs have had to worry about with Patrick Mahomes under center. The team has never finished shy of at least an appearance in the AFC title game since Mahomes took over starting duties in 2018.

But Kansas City is now in real danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in that stretch. According to NFL.com, the Chiefs are the No. 10 seed in the AFC and have a 39 percent chance of earning a berth in the postseason as of Friday.

Should they defeat the Texans and Houston’s top-flight defense, Kansas City will improve its playoff odds to 48 percent. However, if the Chiefs fall to the Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City’s chances to play deep into January will drop all the way to 12 percent.

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GettyQuarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.

There is not a lack of confidence in the Chiefs locker room, though there is a realization that things are not what they used to be. Mahomes made that clear following his team’s most recent defeat.

“Our ceiling is playing in the Super Bowl. We’ve got all the same guys, and we added players. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to go out and do it every single week, on a week-in, week-out basis,” Mahomes said following a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.

“We can beat anybody, but we’ve shown that we can lose to anybody. So, we’ve got to be more consistent,” Mahomes continued. “It starts with me being consistent throughout the entire game, not in just big moments. That’s something that we have to do throughout an entire game and week-to-week.”

The Chiefs are two games behind the Los Angeles Chargers and four games behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West Division, which means even if they make the playoffs, Kansas City is likely to face three road games if the franchise hopes to return to the Super Bowl for the fourth consecutive year.