The Los Angeles Chargers have dropped to 0-7 for the first time since the 2000 season and for the third time in franchise history. Los Angeles emerged from their week seven bye week with some limited reinforcements returning to the field and somehow the offense looked exactly the same if not worse.
It is no secret that the Chargers season has not gone according to plan in 2026. No one, even the most cynical, would have imagined the Chargers offense being worst in the NFL and the Chargers winless by week eight. That is the reality Los Angeles in living in right now.
The offense has struggled to find their footing but it was assumed with Ladd McConkey and Tre' Harris coming back from injury following a bye week, the offense would show some improvements. The offense did find some inconsistent success but could not find the endzone and finished the day with their worst EPA per drive on the season.
Franchise quarterback Justin Herbert did show flashes of his former self in the contest but he firmly threw multiple turnover worthy passes including two horrific interceptions right to defenders. It is clear Herbert is not seeing the field well and has lost confidence in what he is seeing.
Los Angeles' pass catchers had a much better day overall with their core starters back on the field but the run game was a complete shell of the lofty expectations they entered the season with. The root cause of the failures of the run game seems more rooted in the play calling than the players themselves.
Nov 1, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton (8) rushes the ball to the Los Angeles Rams' second level as cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) attempts to bring him down at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Rams seemed to have a beat on what the Chargers were planning in the run game and this was made easier by the obvious running back rotations. For Omarion Hampton, seven of his nine carries were to the inside and of Kimani Vidal's eight carries only three were to the inside. It was fairly predictable where the ball was going when certain personnel was on the field.
PFF grades for offensive line play need to be taken with a grain of salt, however it is safe to use this week's grades a baseline for the run game. The Chargers have good run-blocking tackles. Joe Alt and Travis Burke continued to show that this week and both are positively graded as run blockers. However, the interior of the offensive line continues to be a problem.
The Chargers interior offensive line finished with preliminary run-blocking grades of 54.7 for Jake Slaughter, 51.3 for Logan Taylor and 49.1 for Cole Strange. The Chargers have played seven games and unfortunately their highest-graded interior run blocker on the season is Trevor Penning with a 64.8 overall, a score which does include some reps for him as an extra offensive lineman. Penning is currently the 46th-ranked interior offensive lineman as a run blocker in the NFL among linemen who have played at least 20 percent of the run-blocking snaps.
The Chargers offense is lost, head coach Jim Harbaugh continues to make ridiculous use of time outs and challenges, the interior offensive line can't run block and the Chargers defense continues to go to a war while being put in terrible field positions to defend by the offense. The Chargers have tried to hold out and push back on trade propositions but it is time for President of Football operations John Spanos to give general manager Joe Hortiz the greenlight to build for 2027 and 2028.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as The Morning-After Thunder: Chargers Drop to 0-7, Herbert Looks Broken, Offense Worse .
