The Los Angeles Chargers turned a corner in 2025. Under Jim Harbaugh, they shed the soft, inconsistent identity that had haunted them for years and leaned into a tougher, more disciplined brand of football.
For most of the season, it worked. They went 11-6, played with purpose, and looked like a team finally ready to stop getting in its own way.
Then came the Wild Card loss in New England - a 16-3 gut punch that didn’t just end their season, but revealed exactly where the cracks still live. It wasn’t a high-scoring shootout or a heroic near-miss.
It was a flat, frustrating offensive dud. And in the NFL, playoff exits like that tend to echo into the offseason.
The defense held up its end. The offense didn’t. And now, as the Chargers look toward 2026, the front office has to make some tough calls - the kind that define whether this Harbaugh era becomes a true contender or just another promising chapter that came and went.
A New Identity, But Not Without Flaws
The 2025 Chargers weren’t just a better version of last year’s team - they were a different one. Harbaugh instilled a hard-nosed, defense-first mentality that ditched the finesse-heavy approach of past regimes. They ran the ball with purpose, played with grit, and were finally comfortable winning ugly.
That identity shift was anchored by veterans who brought more than just production. Khalil Mack, even in the back half of his career, was still a force.
He brought edge pressure, leadership, and a relentless motor that set the tone every week. His 5.5 sacks, 32 tackles, and four forced fumbles only tell part of the story.
Mack was the heartbeat of a defense that kept the Chargers in games when the offense stalled.
And that happened more than once.
Justin Herbert wasn’t asked to carry the team with gaudy numbers. He was asked to play within structure, protect the ball, and make the right reads.
For most of the year, he did just that. But when the Patriots turned up the heat in the Wild Card round, the Chargers’ offensive line couldn’t hold.
Herbert was sacked six times and held to just 159 passing yards. The offense didn’t score a touchdown.
That game didn’t expose Harbaugh’s philosophy - it exposed where the roster still falls short. The interior offensive line needs a rebuild.
There’s no way around it. No quarterback should take that kind of beating in a playoff game.
And the offense still lacks a true speed threat on the outside - someone who forces defenses to respect the deep ball and gives Herbert a chance to stretch the field.
The Pillars That Can’t Be Replaced Overnight
This offseason, the Chargers face a critical question: how do you keep the culture you just built without overcommitting to aging veterans?
Let’s start with Mack. At 33, he’s not the long-term future.
But he’s still the present. And right now, he’s irreplaceable.
His presence allows younger guys like Tuli Tuipulotu to thrive. He sets the tone in meetings, in the locker room, and on Sundays.
Letting him walk would leave a leadership vacuum that this defense - and this locker room - isn’t ready to fill.
Then there’s Keenan Allen. His 2025 numbers - 81 catches, 777 yards, and four touchdowns - don’t scream WR1 dominance, but his impact goes way beyond the stat sheet.
He was Herbert’s safety valve, the guy who moved the chains and made the tough catches in traffic. In the playoff loss, he still managed to average over eight yards per catch in a game where nothing came easy.
Allen isn’t just a veteran receiver. He’s the connective tissue of this offense.
Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey are developing, but they’re not ready to carry the load. Taking Allen out of the equation now would force Herbert to build chemistry with a young, unproven group - all while trying to survive behind a line that couldn’t protect him in the biggest game of the year.
That’s not how you build on progress. That’s how you reset it.
And while we’re talking about the future, don’t overlook Odafe Oweh. He flew under the radar in 2025, but his 7.5 sacks in just 12 games were second on the team.
He’s not a volume tackler, but he’s a burst player - the kind who shows up when the Chargers need a spark. As a hybrid edge rusher, he fits perfectly in Harbaugh’s system.
And at 25, he’s just scratching the surface.
If the Chargers are serious about keeping their defensive front among the league’s best, Oweh has to be part of the plan. Relying on Mack alone isn’t sustainable. Letting Oweh walk would be a step backward - and a dangerous one, given how central pass rush is to this team’s identity.
The Next Step Requires the Right Core
The Chargers made real progress in 2025. They didn’t just win more games - they won differently.
They played with structure, with toughness, with purpose. That’s not easy to build.
And it’s even harder to maintain if you start letting key pieces go.
Mack, Allen, Oweh - these aren’t just names on the roster. They’re foundational to the culture Harbaugh is building. Lose them, and the identity that finally started to take shape could crumble just as quickly.
The Chargers don’t need a full rebuild. They need refinement.
They need to protect Herbert, add speed, and find a true ball-hawking corner. But above all, they need to keep the guys who made this transformation possible.
Otherwise, 2025 won’t be remembered as the start of something special - it’ll be just another year where the Chargers almost figured it out.