The Los Angeles Chargers are coming off a stretch that should have changed the conversation around the franchise. Under Jim Harbaugh, they’ve reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and posted double-digit wins in consecutive years for the first time since 2006-2007. That’s the kind of run that usually earns some respect heading into the next season.
Instead, the early 2026 predictions are drawing plenty of side-eye.
The Chargers are set to return to the practice field later this month for training camp, and the expectations around them are high. They’ve also got a real climb ahead, with the 12th toughest schedule heading into 2026. The path won’t be easy, especially after back-to-back playoff losses that have left the team looking to change the narrative.
Still, the range of opinions on Los Angeles’ win total is all over the place. In an early look at the schedule and matchups, one prediction had the Chargers at 12-5. But the NFL’s own preview and prediction for the team ended with some numbers that raised eyebrows.
The NFL preview and prediction goes over all of the offseason moves the Chargers have made and the expectations of the roster in the 2026 season. At the conclusion of the preview, NFL writers, analysts and experts gave their final predictions with respected analyst Lance Zierlein gave the Chargers the best prediction with an 11-6 record. Writer Brooke Cersosimo and analyst Bucky Brooks both are predicting the Chargers will finish with a paltry 7-10 record.
That 7-10 projection stands out for all the wrong reasons. Justin Herbert nearly dragged the team to 11 wins in 2025 despite brutal injuries along the offensive line and in the running back room. If those injury issues don’t follow them again in 2026, and with a revamped offensive line plus the addition of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator, a 10-loss season feels hard to square with the roster on paper.
There’s also one detail from last season that doesn’t get enough attention: when the Chargers played their starters, they swept the AFC West. Los Angeles was 5-0 against the division entering Week 18, then sat its starters and rolled out a lineup full of backups against the Denver Broncos.
If the offense really does become more efficient and explosive by leaning into yards after the catch, Herbert should have a much easier time operating. And with that in mind, a major step backward looks difficult to justify, even with a tougher schedule waiting.
In Other News...
Justin Herbert Got Pulled Into Another Madison Beer Headache
Madison Beer has found herself back in the middle of a public conversation for reasons that have little to do with the music itself. A few tickets for the closing stretch of her Locket world tour were showing up at unusually low prices, which was enough to spark fresh chatter online even as the run continues to draw strong interest overall.
Industry sources say the North American leg is 99 percent sold out, with just four shows left on the schedule, including the final night at Madison Square Garden. Beers profile has only grown more visible in Los Angeles thanks to her relationship with Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who has attended several of her concerts and even missed the start of Chargers phase two to be there for her early tour dates. [Read more 🡒]
Phil Simms Thinks Chargers Finally Found What Justin Herbert Needed
The Chargers spent the offseason looking for a way to make life easier on Justin Herbert, and the move that drew the most attention was bringing in Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. After parting with Greg Roman, the team is betting that a different approach can help stabilize an offense that has too often asked Herbert to carry too much of the load, while also giving the running game a more reliable foundation.
Phil Simms was among those who immediately saw the fit, pointing to McDaniels potential to create more answers in the passing game and better protection for Herbert. The bigger question now is whether that new structure can hold up in front of an offensive line that was battered by injuries last season and still has a starting left guard job to settle before the Chargers can really know what this offense will look like. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers May Have An Unexpected Answer To A Familiar Line Concern
Josh Kaltenbergers first year with the Chargers was the kind of quiet roster climb that can still matter a lot when a team is trying to shore up the middle of its offensive line. The Pennsylvania native went undrafted out of Purdue and Maryland, signed with Los Angeles after the 2025 draft and spent much of his rookie season shuttling between the practice squad and the active roster, which at least kept him close enough to the building to stay in the conversation.
Heading into 2026, that conversation has changed from survival to usefulness, with Kaltenberger now positioned as the primary backup center behind Tyler Biadasz. The Chargers are still sorting out how the rest of the interior line fits together, and that leaves Kaltenberger in an intriguing spot: not a headline name, but a player whose familiarity with the system and experience around the roster could make him more important than his undrafted status once suggested. [Read more 🡒]