KANSAS CITY, Mo. — He released his unbridled joy when the scoreboards inside Arrowhead Stadium still showed 80 seconds left on the clock.

Charles Omenihu, the Chiefs’ defensive end, knew he and his teammates were going to be victorious in the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills at the exact moment the fans realized such, when quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a short pass on third down to running back Samaje Perine, who gain 17 yards to ensure the offense would finish the game in victory formation.

Standing on the Chiefs’ sideline, Omenihu unleashed three guttural words: “Yes! … Yeah! … FINALLY!”

While Mahomes executed two kneels to end the game, Omenihu delivered a loud message, one that was more for himself than his teammates or the fans.

“I get to play in the Super Bowl!” Omenihu said, in a moment captured through NFL Films. “I get to play in a Super Bowl!”

When Omenihu saw the video of his celebration on X, he used his account Tuesday to write two words — “full circle” — to describe what the moment meant to him. Before facing the Bills, Omenihu knew the game was on the 363rd day since he suffered the most significant injury of his six-year career.

Omenihu tore the ACL in his right knee in last year’s AFC Championship Game, a win for the Chiefs over the Baltimore Ravens. The injury forced Omenihu to miss Super Bowl LVIII. He was on the Chiefs’ sideline when the team beat the San Francisco 49ers, one of his former teams, in overtime to become the NFL’s first back-to-back champion in two decades.

“A year ago today, I tore my (ACL and) I felt like my life was crumbling down,” Omenihu wrote on X. “I was playing my best football of my NFL career (and) I was just wondering why God would do this to me. A year later, (in the) same position playing good football when it matters most (and on the way) to the Super Bowl!”

Against the Bills, Omenihu played 43 defensive snaps (59 percent), recording a pivotal pass breakup and two tackles, one of which came behind the line of scrimmage.

He was also on the field for the defense’s most important sequence of plays. Just before the two-minute warning, Omenihu, one of the Chiefs’ most versatile pass rushers, lined up in front of center Connor McGovern. With the Chiefs’ longtime defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo expecting the Bills to pass the ball, Omenihu became one of two spy defenders, along with linebacker Nick Bolton, to account for quarterback Josh Allen. Forced to stay in the pocket, Allen noticed that receiver Curtis Samuel gained separation against safety Justin Reid on a whip route. But after Allen released his pass, Omenihu was in the throwing lane to bat the ball down for an incompletion, leading to a third-and-10 snap near midfield.

Spagnuolo blitzed Allen on the next two snaps, the latter one featuring All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie — the Chiefs’ best coverage defender — attacking from the perimeter, leading to immediate pressure and forcing a rushed deep pass attempt.

“It’s euphoric,” Omenihu said of his feelings after the Chiefs’ victory. “I ain’t missing (the Super Bowl) this year. I went out there and played my tail off to bring this city a three-peat. We’re nothing but ballers on defense. The coaching staff is extremely smart.”

Since Omenihu returned to the lineup in late November, his presence and production — along with Spagnuolo’s blitzing tactics — have helped the Chiefs’ pass rush to be at its most potent form for the most important stretch of the season.

In the past seven games, when the starters have played (excluding Week 18), the Chiefs have generated 28 sacks and 64 quarterback hits.

“I think he’s playing the run really well, too — and we need that,” Spagnuolo said of Omenihu last month. “He gives us length (listed at 6-foot-5) and he’s a relentless pass rusher. He loves to rush the passer.”

The teammate who has benefited the most from Omenihu’s return hasn’t been pass rusher Chris Jones, the Chiefs’ best defender. Instead, it has been George Karlaftis, the three-year defensive end who will play in his third Super Bowl. With Omenihu and Jones on the field together often, Karlaftis has feasted the most on several one-on-one matchups to pressure, hit or sack the opposing quarterback. In the past seven games, Karlaftis has produced seven sacks and 19 quarterback hits.

“Charles is a great player and a great friend,” Karlaftis said last month. “Since he’s come back, I think it’s added another level to our pass rush, for sure, all the stuff that he can do.”

Two years ago, general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid signed Omenihu in free agency to a two-year deal with the hope of him reaching his potential in Spagnuolo’s complex scheme.

Omenihu began last season serving a six-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. In late January 2023, Omenihu was arrested in San Jose, Calif., for suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence, according to the San Jose Police Department. A woman who said she was Omenihu’s girlfriend told police that he “pushed her to the ground during an argument,” according to the police report. She complained about pain in her arm but declined medical treatment and had no visible injuries from the altercation.

Two misdemeanor battery charges were dismissed when Omenihu agreed to plead no contest to a misdemeanor count of illegally destroying, removing or obstructing the use of a wireless communication device, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Following his suspension, Omenihu played 11 games and had a career-high seven sacks and two forced fumbles. Omenihu’s biggest postseason moment last year occurred in the Chiefs’ victory over the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game. Omenihu flashed his speed from the edge and used the proper technique to strip-sack quarterback Lamar Jackson, a fumble that was recovered by Karlaftis. But on the Ravens’ next snap, Omenihu suffered his torn ACL injury when he tried to tackle Jackson.

Omenihu spent most of the tedious, grueling days during his nine-month rehab with Tiffany Morton, one of the Chiefs’ athletic trainers, and Greg Carbin, the team’s assistant strength and conditioning trainer. The toughest part of his rehab was during training camp in July and August when he was trying to rebuild the strength in his right knee. He said the most painful part was when he had to use a blood flow restriction machine on his right leg. When Omenihu felt discouraged or frustrated with what was necessary for him to return to the field, he relied on the expertise of Morton and Carbin.

“I’ve had a lot of nights where I’ve prayed about this, being where I need to be to help this organization win big games,” Omenihu said. “It’s happened. I hope it continues to happen. That’s truly what I want, to be able to give back to everybody that has been patient with me and my time here.”

Four days before the Chiefs faced the Houston Texans in the AFC’s divisional round, Omenihu shared that he has a strong reputation once the calendar turns to January. He proved it in the second quarter, when he created a quick strip-sack on quarterback C.J. Stroud on a third-and-5 snap, the play before Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal attempt.

In 13 playoff games, Omenihu has 5 1/2 sacks, 10 quarterback hits, four tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.

Super Bowl LIX will be the first time in Omenihu’s career that he will play a game in February. The Chiefs, in their pursuit of an unprecedented three-peat, will likely need Omenihu to have a memorable performance in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles — both in terms of setting the edge against running back Saquon Barkley and chasing quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Omenihu knows he can be at his best against the Eagles because of one primary reason.

“I’m to the point now where I don’t really worry about my knee,” Omenihu said. “I know this is a two-year kind of deal, but on the field, nobody can tell.”