The Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to the Super Bowl on Sunday, but will have to face the 49ers without one of their top pass rushers.
Defensive end Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL in his team’s 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens and will be forced to watch Super Bowl LVIII from the sidelines. Omenihu, who joined the Chiefs in the offseason, previously played for the Houston Texans and the San Francisco 49ers.
“I wish I was there to finish the game out,” Omenihu told reporters after the game. “It’s just crazy. We’re going to the Super Bowl for real.”
Across his previous 4 NFL campaigns, the 26 year old registered 11.5 total sacks, however 2023 saw him break out in a major way, recording a career high 7 sacks in just 11 games. His 5 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles also tied career highs in his limited action after sitting out the first 6 games of the season due to a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.
San Francisco has opened as slight favourites at most sports books with the most common spread being -1.5 in favour of the Niners in the rematch of Super Bowl LIV.
Photo: Senior Airman Thomas Barley. This image or file is a work of a U.S. Air Force Airman or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain in the United States.