Experts and fans marvel at the way Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a first-year starter, stepped into his role and succeeded in only his second season.

Mahomes, however, has been set up to succeed. His offense features studs at wide receiver (Tyreek Hill), tight end (Travis Kelce) and running back (Kareem Hunt), the latter two being Northeast Ohio natives. With that kind of offensive firepower, performance isn’t optional for a quarterback.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons at every skill position,” Browns linebacker Chris Kirksey said of the 7-1 Chiefs. “They’ve got all the skill positions locked down, but I think we match up with them pretty well with the way our defense plays, so it will be fun on Sunday.”

A strong and effective runner, Hunt is versatile enough that he also helps make the Chiefs passing game, which ranks fourth in the NFL, more effective. If there were ever a poster boy for the benefits of the Mid-American Conference’s MACtion — weeknight football games — the former Willoughby South High School and Toledo standout is it.

“I told people this: I watched all of those Thursday night games of him [in college]. You sit here, you are doing work and you put on the MAC and they are grinding it out there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Toledo was on there quite often. I go, ‘Man, who is that guy? What a heck of a back he is.’ Next thing I know, I am coaching him.”

The NFL quickly discovered who Hunt was. He claimed the rushing title as a rookie with 1,327 yards, averaging 4.88 yards per carry and scoring eight touchdowns. He ranked third in the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,782.

And Hunt shows no sign of slowing down this year. The 5-foot-11, 219-pounder is fourth in the league in rushing with 592 yards on 134 carries (4.4 average) and is second in scoring with 60 points. Mahomes certainly appreciates what he brings to the Chiefs' offense

“You have to respect him running the football. He is someone that breaks a ton of tackles,” Mahomes said during a conference call earlier this week. “He gets a lot of extra yards. At the same time, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. You have to make sure that you can account for him. I feel like he is the most pivotal guy in our offense.”

Browns interim coach Gregg Williams likened Hunt to a player with whom he’s very familiar from this year and in the past.

“He does some [Oakland Raiders running back] Marshawn Lynch things when Marshawn was in Buffalo really young in his career,” Williams said. “We see some of the similarities there on how not only is he a good space player, and I think he has improved each year that he has been in the league with Andy and those guys.”

That’s not a comparison to be taken lightly, given what Lynch accomplished (130 yards rushing, 27 yards receiving) against the Browns in the Raiders' 45-42 overtime victory on Sept. 30. In that respect, he shares the ability to pad yardage totals after an initial hit.

“When you're going to make a tackle, he breaks a lot of tackles and gets yards after contact,” Kirksey said of Hunt. “So for him, we have to make sure we gang tackle him, make sure that we make those running lanes condensed as possible and just make it cloudy for him.”

Limiting Hunt represents but one key to stopping the multi-pronged offensive attack of the Chiefs, who have scored less than 30 points just once in eight games this season, lead the league in scoring and rank third in overall offense in the NFL.

“We just have to trust our eyes,” safety Jabrill Peppers said after Friday’s practice. “This is the National Football League. Every week you’re going to be posed with a problem. Just this week, they’ve got guys at every position who can make an impact.”

Peppers said some have estimated Hunt’s strength and speed, but the Browns don’t plan to do so.

“Kareem is definitely a special back in this league who deserves respect and attention, and we’re going to treat it as such,” he said.

Hunt is special enough to grab the attention of defensive end Myles Garrett.

"He's like a never-say-die runner. He gets hit, carries guys. He doesn't like to allow just one guy to take him down. I feel like that's kind of a pride thing with him,” Garrett said. “He'll get hit, and they'll bounce off of him. He's got one guy on his leg. He's hurdling another guy. And he's not going down until you force him.

“He's not just going to run out of bounds. He's not just going to fall down to avoid contact. He's going to keep on going until he physically can't go anymore and that's kind of the old-school way of running the ball. I kind of like to watch him, but not on Sunday.”

George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ByGeorgeThomas.