The Chargers entered the year with high expectations after a disappointing end to their previous season, losing to the New England Patriots in the Wild Card Round. Los Angeles made a major addition to its coaching staff this offseason by bringing in former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, fueling optimism that his offensive expertise could take the unit to another level.
Instead, the Chargers have struggled to find consistency early in the 2026 season. Los Angeles scored just 14 points in each of its first two games and has committed six turnovers through three weeks. Although the offense showed some improvement against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, it still managed only 16 points in a 24-16 loss.
The Chargers defense had Josh Allen‘s number in the first half, forcing multiple turnovers, yet Los Angeles still couldn’t complete the victory because of the offense.
This leaves the Chargers at 0-3 with their next three opponents being the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Already sitting at 0-3 with tough games ahead, things in LA could unravel quickly.
Herbert’s Struggles
The biggest factor in determining whether the Chargers can turn their season around will be Justin Herbert‘s play. Through three games, Herbert has thrown for 627 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions, resulting in a 27.4 QB rating. His numbers have been inconsistent early in the year, which has left the Chargers uncompetitive on offense.
For a team that entered the season with playoff expectations, Herbert has not provided the level of play needed to overcome the Chargers’ other weaknesses. The offensive struggles cannot all be placed on the quarterback, especially with a new system being implemented, but Herbert’s turnovers and inconsistent execution have made an already difficult start even harder to overcome.
If Los Angeles is going to recover from 0-3, Herbert will need to be significantly better moving forward.
Defense Stepping Up
Through the first two weeks, the Chargers lost to the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals by multiple possessions each. Losing to bad teams happens in the NFL, but getting blown out by two teams projected to be at the bottom of the league is very concerning for a defense ranked in the top ten on multiple metrics last season.
However, the Raiders’ new coach, Klink Kubiak, has taken them to a level above expectations, and the Chargers’ defense stepped up tremendously against the Bills this past week, forcing 5 turnovers on one of the league’s hottest offenses.
Right now, the Chargers are at the bottom of the totem pole, and if they want to make something out of this season, Justin Herbert and the offense need to step up. Unfortunately, with these tough upcoming games, the season may already be over for the Chargers, and we can start to look at the job security of Jim Harbaugh.
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