Three weeks into the NFL season, it’s still early - unless you’re already staring at an 0-3 start and a pile of questions that won’t wait for December.
That’s the spot three head coaches find themselves in heading into Week 4: Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles, Matt LaFleur in Green Bay and Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay. Different résumés, different situations, same basic problem. The losses are adding up fast.
Harbaugh has the strongest cushion of the group. His track record at Stanford, San Francisco, Michigan and now Los Angeles gives him credibility most coaches don’t get when the season starts to wobble. But the Chargers are 0-3 after Sunday’s 24-16 loss to Buffalo, and the weird part is they forced five turnovers and still walked away empty-handed.
That’s where the alarm bells get loud. Justin Herbert and the offense haven’t looked like a unit ready to challenge Kansas City in the AFC West, and Los Angeles is the division’s only winless team.
Harbaugh’s name still matters a lot. What matters more now is whether this version of Harbaugh can start producing results instead of leaning on everything he’s already accomplished.
LaFleur’s case is different, but no less uncomfortable. He’s been in Green Bay since 2019 and has stacked up regular-season wins, but the postseason has been a recurring dead end. He’s 3-6 in the playoffs, and last year’s trip ended with the Packers blowing a 21-3 halftime lead against Chicago.
Even the regular season isn’t offering much cover right now. Green Bay is 1-2 after getting hammered 35-14 by Atlanta at Lambeau Field, and that was the worst three-game start of LaFleur’s eight seasons with the team. The NFC North also doesn’t look like a division the Packers can just assume they’ll own.
That’s the tension in Green Bay: enough success to keep things from feeling disastrous, not enough to feel satisfying. The Packers have invested in Jordan Love and given LaFleur years to build around him. If this season keeps drifting toward mediocrity, the question becomes unavoidable - is LaFleur still the coach who can get them somewhere they haven’t been since 2010?
Bowles may have the toughest road of all. Tampa Bay is 0-3 after Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, and things got even worse when Baker Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb that will keep him out for at least three weeks.
The Buccaneers already made their quarterback decision for the long haul. Mayfield got a lucrative extension this offseason, so the organization has clearly chosen who it wants running the offense going forward. That doesn’t guarantee the same patience for the coach.
If the losses keep stacking up, Tampa Bay can’t assume Bowles gets the same security. If the team believes Mayfield is the quarterback but the current staff isn’t getting enough out of him or the roster around him, a coaching change becomes the most obvious move left.
For Bowles, the margin for error is already thin. Now he has to manage a winless start without his starting quarterback.
In Other News...
Maxx Crosby Sees One Reason This Raiders Start Feels Different
The Raiders 3-0 start has already drawn its share of attention, and Maxx Crosby said the early feel around this group is not just about the record. The veteran defensive end pointed to the teams focus and the way players have stayed close through a summer that included plenty of trade speculation, a backdrop that could have easily created noise in the locker room.
For a Chargers fan watching the AFC West unfold, that matters because Las Vegas has looked like a team comfortable with its footing right away. Crosbys read on the mood suggests the Raiders believe this stretch is built on more than momentum, which is part of why their start has taken on a different kind of meaning this season. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Panic Is Growing As Their Brutal Start Gets Even Worse
Three weeks into the 2026 NFL season, the Chargers are already dealing with a kind of frustration that goes beyond a simple bad break or two. They have lost three games even while forcing multiple turnovers, which is the sort of stat line that usually keeps a team afloat long enough to find its footing. Instead, it has only made the slow start feel more maddening for a roster that expected far better.
Around the league, there are other early-season problems worth monitoring, from Drake Mayes uneven statistical start in New England to the Rams injury-related setbacks and Houstons 0-3 hole. But for the Chargers, the concern is more immediate because the margin for error is already shrinking. A defense creating takeaways should be a foundation, yet the results have not followed, and the question now is how long they can keep waiting for the rest of the season to catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers 0-3 Start Just Put Justin Herbert Under A Harsh Spotlight
A 0-3 start has a way of amplifying everything around a team, and Justin Herbert is feeling that pressure more than anyone. With the Chargers still searching for their first win, Jim Harbaugh has already gone public with criticism of Herberts decision-making, a notable shift in tone for a quarterback who has long been expected to carry the offense through rough stretches.
The timing only adds to the scrutiny because the Chargers have already changed offensive coordinators, moving from Greg Roman to Mike McDaniel, and the early results have not settled anything down. Herberts passer rating is at a career low, the offense has looked out of sync, and now the question is whether this is simply a bad stretch or a deeper mismatch between system and personnel that needs a much faster fix. [Read more 🡒]