KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Charles Omenihu awoke at 6:15 a.m. Sunday, more than nine hours before he was set to make his regular-season debut with the Kansas City Chiefs that afternoon.
“I told myself that I had to turn it down a little bit,” Omenihu said. “Coming out and seeing the fans, that got me rolling again. After that, I just told myself that I’ve done this before and it’s a game. I play better when I’m mellow.”
Omenihu must have calmed down at some point, turning in an impressive performance during his first action since serving a six-game suspension for violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. The defensive lineman picked up a sack, two tackles, two quarterback hits and batted a pass that led to an interception by L’Jarius Sneed in helping propel the Chiefs to a 31-17 win over the Chargers.
“Getting the sack was probably the happiest moment of my career, honestly,” said Omenihu, who entered the game with 11.5 career sacks in four NFL seasons with Houston and San Francisco. “And doing it with a new team, in a home game, a big game. I kept asking around the building saying, ‘This Chargers game is a big one, huh?’ I just kept that in mind.”
The performance earned Omenihu postgame praise from head coach Andy Reid. When the Chiefs signed Omenihu to a two-year, $16 million free-agent deal in March, they were optimistic that Omenihu might receive a short suspension stemming from his January arrest for suspicion of domestic violence. Reid said Omenihu took his work during training camp and the preseason seriously.
“What he did was on the six weeks off, he kept himself in shape, and you had a chance to see that today,” Reid said. “Now is he going to be sore? Yeah, he’s going to be in the cold tub for a while tomorrow. But he’s a nice addition to the mix there.”
Teammate Mike Danna gave Omenihu the ultimate praise a professional football player can give to a teammate, calling him “a dog.”
“He knows the game of football in and out,” Danna said. “Versatile, he can play three-tech, he can play D-end, he’s got range in this game. Having him as an addition now is huge, he’s going to be able to make a push in this D-line room for us.”
Omenihu played 32 snaps across the defensive line against the Chargers, the overwhelming majority in his customary role as an edge rusher. But on four snaps he kicked inside, allowing the Chiefs to debut the third-down front line they envisioned during training camp with Omenihu and Mike Danna inside and Chris Jones and George Karlaftis on the edge.
“Oh man it was fun,” Danna said. “All of us are versatile, we’re all playing inside or out, getting us all on the field is huge every single one of us can rush. Being able to ball with them all for the first time this year was exceptional. I’m looking forward to keep on doing it, keep on stacking the reps and getting better with the guys.”
Omenihu indeed produced both inside and out — his sack came as an edge rusher, while his batted pass for an interception came on a third down.
“They trusted me and brought me in to add more to the fire that is already here,” Omenihu said. “I’ve got to go out there and be productive, that’s the name of the game.”
As emotionally gratifying as Sunday proved for Omenihu, it came after six of the most difficult weeks of his career. Omenihu missed just five games during the first four years of his career. Spending the last six games without his teammates was challenging.
“Missing those six games, the season gets going and you just want to be a part of it, especially coming in and trying to be a piece of a puzzle that’s already been put together,” Omenihu said. “It was eating at me. Thank God I’m back and was able to help the team win and win a divisional game.”
After Omenihu’s sack, numerous teammates congratulated him on the play. One was linebacker Willie Gay, who understood the challenge Omenihu faced. Gay missed the first four games of the 2022 season also stemming from a suspension for a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.
“A lot of those guys knew the intricacies of what I was going through mentally,” Omenihu said. “Willie had a similar situation where he had the same type of deal. He was talking to me all week, keeping me encouraged. Some of the guys, like I said, knew how I’ve been feeling. Those guys embracing me was a big thing for me.”
When Omenihu stepped to the podium in the postgame press conference room, he made a point of thanking the Chiefs organization for sticking beside him through his suspension.
“First and foremost, I just want to thank God for allowing me to be out here today,” Omenihu said. “Not playing football for the last six weeks has probably been the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do. Being able to come out and help the team win, I truly have no words.”
The next challenge for Omenihu — doing it all again next week against Denver and for the remaining 10 games of the regular season and beyond. Jones looks forward to seeing that happen.
“He’s amazing,” Jones said. “A tipped pass for an interception, the sack. I think the main thing about Charles is getting him to play, staying consistent. If we continue to get that effort from Charles, we can be a dynamic defensive line.”
