The Chargers have barely had time to recover from one mess before stumbling into another, and Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Raiders made that painfully clear. After last week’s 26-14 defeat to the Cardinals, Los Angeles opened with a chance to reset, but every promising turn seemed to unravel faster than the one before it.
Early on, the Chargers moved into Raiders territory, only for tight end Oronde Gadsden II to swat down a pass intended for Brenen Thompson like he was playing defensive back. A couple drives later, Justin Herbert hit David Njoku deep, and for a moment it looked like the offense might finally breathe. Then Njoku bobbled the ball and Jermod McCoy came away with it.
The sloppiness never let up. Late in the third quarter, with the Chargers trailing by three, an offensive snap struck Tre Harris in motion and turned what should have been a routine third-down conversion into a punt.
Herbert slammed the turf twice in frustration. Then came the killer: Omarion Hampton coughed it up in Raiders territory, and three plays later Las Vegas was back in the end zone.
"That's not up to our standard," Herbert said.
At this point, though, that is the standard. The Chargers’ five turnovers are tied for second-most in the NFL, trailing only the Falcons, who are essentially without a quarterback.
Their seven fumbles lead the league, and six of them came Sunday. Their 13 offensive penalties are second-most.
Herbert and Mike McDaniel were supposed to make things click, but two games in, the offense has been closer to chaos than chemistry. "Yakety Sax" fits better than anything else.
It has been a circus, and not the good kind.
Jim Harbaugh said he liked the team’s "fight" and that they weren’t "deterred." But the bigger question is how the Chargers are supposed to find any rhythm at all.
Last week, Harbaugh said he wished he had played his starters more in the preseason. The preseason is long gone, though, and this group still looks like it’s learning the offense on the fly.
The fit between Herbert and McDaniel was always going to require some adjustment. Herbert is a downfield thrower who can win from the pocket with raw arm strength, while McDaniel’s offense leans on motion, quick decisions and fast answers.
Right now, the marriage is nowhere near where it needs to be. The Chargers rank 21st in EPA per play on snaps with motion, and the movement that is supposed to help sort out defenses is instead creating more confusion.
Even when the snap is clean, Herbert hasn’t looked comfortable living in the quick game the way Tua Tagovailoa did when McDaniel’s offense was humming in Miami. From 2022-23, 57% of Tagovailoa’s throws came out in 2.5 seconds or fewer, the highest rate in the NFL. Herbert is at 33%, tied with Josh Allen for 24th.
That gap matters. Herbert’s biggest edge over Tagovailoa is his arm, but that advantage only shows up if the offense handles the small stuff first.
Tagovailoa, whatever else he was, was accurate and on time in the quick game. Herbert hasn’t been nearly sharp enough there, with a 12.5% off-target rate on throws 15 yards or fewer downfield, fifth-highest in the NFL this season through Sunday.
Last year, that number was 6.3%.
When asked about how long it takes to adjust to new coordinators, Herbert stuck to the same frustrated note.
"It wasn't good enough today. There's no time for us to be patient with how we were playing. It's not good enough, so we have to be better."
The Chargers also can’t pin this on one issue alone. Tyler Biadasz, brought in to steady the interior offensive line, was lost for the season in training camp.
They’ve had dropped passes, three of them on plays that could have gone explosive. But the league doesn’t pause for injuries or new systems.
If a team isn’t locked in on every snap, the NFL will make it pay. The Chargers have had major breakdowns on too many of them in both games.
And the problems aren’t limited to offense. The defense hasn’t looked like a strength, either.
Without Brock Bowers, the Raiders still completed 10 passes of 10 or more yards. Last season, under Jesse Minter, the Chargers allowed at least 10 such completions in only two games.
They’ve already matched that mark this season in two games.
Kirk Cousins threw three touchdowns and took just two sacks. Tre Tucker went for 119 receiving yards and a 40-yard touchdown.
Cody White caught two touchdown passes. Those are not the names you expect to shred a defense, but the Chargers made it happen anyway.
Last year’s defense was so effective because the coaching and scheme elevated everything around it. That edge isn’t there now with Minter gone to Baltimore and first-time coordinator Chris O'Leary running the show in Los Angeles.
"Right now, it just looks trash," Derwin James Jr. said.
The rough part is that the schedule only gets tougher from here. But even that almost feels beside the point.
This is the NFL. There’s no hiding from what the Chargers are right now, and through two weeks, it has been ugly in every direction.
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