Tyrann Mathieu didn’t bother dressing up the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive mess after Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans. He saw a team that has gone 34 straight offensive possessions and 11 consecutive quarters without reaching the end zone, and he went straight at the people in charge.
“If you're tanking for Jeremiah smith I can maybe understand but to be an NFL team with multiple good players & can't score points is criminal & should be investigated with the highest degree of respect,” the former Chiefs safety wrote on X after the game.
The comment landed on a Chargers offense that has been spiraling for weeks, not just one afternoon. The drought began in the third quarter of a 23-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 11 and has carried through three opponents, even after a change in play-calling vantage point.
Against Houston, the same problems showed up early. C.J.
Stroud connected with Xavier Hutchinson for a touchdown in the opening quarter, while Los Angeles managed only a field goal on its first drive. Ka'imi Fairbairn added another field goal to push the Texans ahead 10-3, and the Chargers had just 55 yards on 11 plays with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
The numbers around the season tell the same story. Los Angeles entered the game last in the NFL in points per game at 14.1, last in expected points added per play and last in success rate. That’s why the scrutiny has shifted away from the players and toward the staff.
Justin Herbert has been part of the frustration, too. He came into the game with 10 interceptions against five touchdown passes and ranked 30th in QBR at 32.5. Still, he is also the quarterback who guided the Chargers to the playoffs in each of Jim Harbaugh’s first two seasons.
Omarion Hampton has given them production on the ground, with 309 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 89 carries. But the offense as a whole has been stuck in neutral, and the red-zone issues have only made the damage worse. Los Angeles has scored touchdowns on just half of its trips inside the 20, a rate that sat among the league’s worst before the Rams game.
The problems aren’t limited to finishing drives. The Chargers were averaging 287.2 yards per game and 4.64 yards per play, while converting only 34.1 percent of their third downs. They also ranked 31st in sacks per pass attempt before the bye and sat 29th in turnover margin at minus-5, with a league-high 17 giveaways.
Harbaugh’s message during the bye week didn’t offer much new. “We're looking into everything at this point, and that process is ongoing,” he said, adding that the staff would examine “everything that relates to moving the ball.”
For now, the search for answers is still going. The results aren’t.
Mathieu, who retired in July 2025 after 12 NFL seasons, including three with the New Orleans Saints, directed his post at a team that entered Sunday 0-7 and riding a 10-game losing streak dating to last season.
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