There’s plenty going wrong in Los Angeles right now, but the spotlight keeps landing on Justin Herbert for one simple reason: the Chargers need more from their quarterback.
After two games, the offense has gone nowhere near the level people expected, and the numbers are ugly. The Chargers are 0-2, they’ve been beaten by the Cardinals and Raiders by the same 26-14 score, and the unit that was supposed to get a boost under Mike McDaniel has looked stuck in place instead.
Herbert’s day against the Raiders summed up the problem. He went 15 of 27 for 192 yards, threw one touchdown and two interceptions, took three sacks and finished with a 59.5 passer rating. That’s not the kind of production that can carry a team, especially when the quarterback is supposed to be the centerpiece of the operation.
One of the interceptions wasn’t his fault, but the bigger issue was the lack of rhythm. The Chargers had a chance to seize control after Herbert hit Oronde Gadsden for a touchdown that put them ahead 14-10 in the third quarter. They couldn’t build on it, and the Raiders eventually took over.
To be clear, Herbert isn’t the only reason the Chargers are in this mess. The offense has coughed up six total fumbles, injuries are already piling up, David Njoku left with a knee injury and the offensive line has had its own problems.
Still, Herbert is the player who has to steady things when the rest of the operation is messy. Through two games, he’s at 401 passing yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, with six sacks added on top of that. The Chargers have managed only 28 points in those two games and haven’t shown the kind of drive-to-drive consistency that keeps an offense afloat.
It’s a rough opening for a team that looked like it had a manageable early schedule. Instead, Los Angeles is 0-2 and staring at a much tougher run next, starting with Buffalo before Seattle and Kansas City, with Denver and the Rams also on deck.
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Chargers Suddenly Have A Tight End Problem They Can't Ignore
A thin tight end room has forced the Chargers to make a quick adjustment, signing Hayden Rucci off the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad after placing David Njoku and Charlie Kolar on injured reserve because of injuries. The move leaves Oronde Gadsden as the only other healthy tight end on the active roster, a sudden squeeze that changes the look of the offense and puts even more pressure on the depth chart.
Rucci arrives with limited NFL experience, but he does bring something useful in a situation like this: familiarity with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel's system from his time with the Miami Dolphins. For a team trying to keep its offense moving without two key tight ends, that kind of head start matters, even if the bigger question is how quickly the Chargers can turn a stopgap addition into something workable. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Suddenly Have A Justin Herbert Problem Joe Hortiz Can't Ignore
The Chargers offensive line has become one of the most uncomfortable storylines around the team, because it keeps putting Justin Herbert in the kind of position no franchise quarterback should have to navigate. When protection breaks down, everything gets harder to trust, from the rhythm of the offense to the staffs ability to evaluate what is really going wrong and where the fixes need to come from. Joe Hortiz does not have the luxury of treating it as a temporary inconvenience anymore.
For a team trying to stay on track, the issue is bigger than one rough afternoon or one bad matchup. The Chargers need Herbert upright and functional, and they need the front office to sort through the roster with a clear eye toward what can actually help right now. Whether that means adjusting the line, exploring moves, or simply admitting the problem is more urgent than hoped, this is the kind of situation that can linger unless it gets addressed head on. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Have Exposed A Chargers Problem That Goes Beyond Herbert
The Chargers rough 0-2 start has drawn plenty of attention to Justin Herbert and the new offensive setup, but one ESPN take pointed to a more basic issue up front. Ben Solak argued the bigger concern has been the play of tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, both working back from significant injuries suffered in 2025, and the ripple effect has shown up in protection and penalties along the line.
For a team trying to make a fresh offensive scheme work, that kind of instability on the edges can change everything. Herbert can only operate so comfortably when the pocket is collapsing and the tackles are fighting through recovery, and the early evidence suggests the Chargers problems may be rooted in more than scheme or quarterback play. [Read more 🡒]