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Chargers' 0-2 Start: 5 Biggest Problems Holding Los Angeles Back
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- Chargers' 0-2 Start: 5 Biggest Problems Holding Los Angeles Back
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Los Angeles Chargers came into 2026 with big expectations, and two weeks later they're 0-2 and searching for answers.
They lost both games by the same score, 26-14, first to Arizona and then to Las Vegas .
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Here's what's going wrong.
The offense hasn't worked under Mike McDaniel
The McDaniel hire was supposed to unlock Justin Herbert , but so far, it hasn't. After the opener, McDaniel admitted the offense looked nothing like what he had in mind and called the performance humbling.
Week 2 was worse. Herbert completed 15 of 27 passes for 192 yards with two interceptions and fumbled three times, and the team put the ball on the ground six times overall, losing one.
Through two games, he has 401 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. The Week 1 numbers also show how much the offense depends on Ladd McConkey : with him on the field, Herbert averaged 8.9 yards per attempt, and after McConkey left, that dropped to 3.9.
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The offensive line is struggling again
Pass protection has been a recurring problem for this franchise, and the 2026 plan to fix it quickly fell apart. Free agent center Tyler Biadasz , who was brought in to stabilize the line, went down with a knee injury in training camp.
Right tackle Joe Alt was flagged four times against the Raiders, including a holding call in the end zone late in the game that gave Las Vegas a safety.
Now left guard Kayode Awosika will miss time with a fibula injury, a significant loss for a line whose problems helped make Herbert the league's third-most-sacked quarterback last season.
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The team keeps beating itself
Khalil Mack put it bluntly after Sunday's loss, saying the team is hurting itself in all three phases and has been doing it two weeks in a row.
In the opener, the offense piled up pre-snap penalties and had miscommunications with receivers, the defense looked passive, and special teams struggled on kick returns and gave up a blocked punt.
Against the Raiders, there was also a botched snap exchange on top of all the fumbles.
The injuries keep piling up
The Chargers got hit hard Sunday. Tight ends David Njoku and Charlie Kolar are both headed to injured reserve, and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson will also miss time. That leaves Oronde Gadsden as the only healthy tight end on the active roster.
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The schedule is brutal
History isn't on their side either. Since 1990, only 12.8 percent of teams that started 0-2 have made the playoffs. The next four games are at Buffalo, at Seattle , home against Denver , and at Kansas City , and the Bills come in at 2-0.
Jim Harbaugh insists nobody in the locker room is discouraged, but unless the Chargers clean up their mistakes quickly, the season could slip away before October ends.
