Charles Omenihu has been close enough to this situation to form an opinion. He played for San Francisco 49ers during consecutive NFC Championship game losses, had to miss the Super Bowl due to his torn ACL strip-sacking Lamar Jackson, and then donned a uniform for Kansas City Chiefs while the Chiefs were humiliated by Philadelphia 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX. Omenihu understands both perspectives.
Currently under contract for the one year with the Washington Commanders, he appeared on the Speakeasy podcast and expressed an opinion that has surely been shared by many members of that Chiefs organization since the day of that Super Bowl loss.
He knows both rosters and his verdict does not flatter the 2024 Chiefs
On the aforementioned talk show, Omenihu did not mince his words: "the 49ers Super Bowl team was better." By this statement, Omenihu referred to the San Francisco roster participating in the confrontation against Kansas City in the Las Vegas.
I would agree with Charles here: the 2023 Kansas City defense with Omenihu tallying 7.0 sacks in just 11 appearances during the regular season looked much better than its counterpart from the following year.
The Chiefs' defense of that time caused turnovers and dominated games at critical moments. It is impossible to say anything like that about the defense that played against Philadelphia.
However, Charles Omenihu's perspective does deserve some consideration when it comes from someone who spent some time in those locker rooms. Stating that the team that was almost beaten was stronger than the one that was beaten by Philadelphia is quite a bold move.
Of course, the victory of the latter team is undoubted, and the trophy will never be returned. Still, Charles Omenihu just said that Philadelphia may have encountered a less tough Chiefs squad compared to their opponents in the 2023 season.