Sports

Why are the Chargers 0-3?

There has been much discussion regarding the Chargers' 0-3 start to the 2026 season. Why are the Chargers winless so far?

1. I purchased season tickets for the first time in 16 years. Until last year, I had not seen the Chargers win in person since I gave up my season tickets circa 2010. Clearly, me being optimistic for the season has doomed the team.
2. I publicly put Justin Herbert in the win 11 games without an offensive line QB tier, and he is trying to prove me wrong.

In all seriousness, fingers have been pointed in many directions. I have opinions based loosely on facts.

Joe Hortiz

Hortiz is one of the main targets of people's ire. I do think this judgment is a bit unfair.

The good:

• Hortiz's first NFL Draft with the Chargers was in 2024. The only players currently on the roster who were drafted by the Chargers prior to 2024 are: Denzel Perryman (2015), Derwin James (2018), Trey Pipkins (2019), Justin Herbert (2020), Rashawn Slater (2021), Deane Leonard (2022), and the 2023 crop of Quentin Johnston (QJ), Tuli Tuipulotu, Daiyan Henley, Derius Davis, and Scott Matlock. Of these 11 remaining drafted players, 4 are fringe / backup / special teams only players.
• Hortiz has drafted relatively well. Fifteen players, including Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey, Justin Eboigbe, Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart, Kimani Vidal, Omarion Hampton, Tre' Harris, Jamaree Caldwell, Oronde Gadsden, RJ Mickens, Akheem Mesidor, Jake Slaughter, Genesis Smith, and Nick Barrett, are all contributing to or starting for the 2026 team. Of his 26 picks, only Junior Colson, Kyle Kennard, and the three 7th round picks are not on the roster or a reserve list.
• Hortiz has acquired many useful players (when not injured) in free agency or trades, including Keaton Mitchell, Charlie Kolar, Tyler Biadasz, Kayode Awosika, Teair Tart, Dalvin Tomlinson, Bud Dupree, Troy Dye, Del'Shawn Phillips, Donte Jackson, and Elijah Molden. A few undrafted free agents (UDFAs) have also been contributors, mostly on special teams.

The criticism worth considering:

• The interior offensive line free agent signings have largely gone haywire, from Bradley Bozeman and Mekhi Becton (poor play in 2025) to Trevor Penning and Cole Strange (poor play in 2026). Two offensive linemen who should have been at least average, Biadasz and Awosika, are both injured. Hortiz unwisely did not exercise his fifth-year option on Zion Johnson, who was solid in 2025. Overall, the offensive line has continued to play poorly in 2026.
• Related: there's an argument to be made that Hortiz should have drafted Emmanuel Pregnon instead of trading the pick for Brenen Thompson, Nick Barrett, and Logan Taylor or Alex Harkey; that said, according to PFF, Pregnon has been below average for the first three weeks so who's to judge? My opinion is Hortiz did enough with the offensive line, the situation has been unlucky (again), and the coaches are not helping.
• Hortiz likes to mine draft picks and he was particularly focused on "winning" the Odafe Oweh trade by getting a compensatory pick in the loaded 2027 draft. That pick would only arrive, however, if Hortiz limited the number and types of free agents he signed. Horitz thus carefully navigated who he signed, which meant that certain holes went unfilled, holes that have been magnified through the first three weeks. In short, the roster is less talented than it might be because Hortiz held back significant money rather than sign more free agents and lose the compensatory pick.

Overall, Hortiz has completely rebuilt the roster over three years, with the team getting 11 wins in each of the first two seasons. That is not an easy feat.

Hortiz Roster Holes

• The team bet that QJ would improve on his form from 2024-2025 and become a dependable target, in effect swapping Keenan Allen for a better QJ. That bet has failed - the team (1) should be relying on Harris and (2) should have signed a veteran X receiver as a backstop.
• The team bet that Henley would return to his 2024 form at middle linebacker. That bet has largely failed, though he did show promise in the Buffalo game playing closer to the line of scrimmage. The Chargers should have signed a veteran inside linebacker who can cover and tackle, replacing Perryman.
• The team bet they could survive with three NFL corners. That bet has now failed, both because of mixed play from Hart and the injury to Jackson that forced UDFA Rodney Shelley on the field before he's ready. The team needed to replace Benjamin St-Juste and didn't.

These holes lie at the feet of Hortiz. The offensive line problems, not as much. The roster is still talented enough to win; the problem is 80% coaching, 20% the roster.

Jim Harbaugh, Mike McDaniel, Justin Herbert

While my first choice head coach in the 2024 cycle was Mike Vrabel, I was generally pleased with the hiring of Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has set a high floor everywhere he's coached, has coached a team that won a National Championship, and took the 49ers to three NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl. For his first two seasons in LA, the floor was met as the Chargers won 11 games each year despite roster turnover and injuries.

Everyone thought putting Harbaugh and Justin Herbert together with Mike McDaniel, a modern NFL offensive coordinator, would be the final piece to unlocking the offense. Instead, the offense is completely broken. The offensive line has played poorly, there are a number of pre-snap penalties, receivers don't appear to be in the right place, and Herbert is playing tentatively and making mistakes. The offensive players look completely unprepared. It's clear that not enough time was spent in training camp and the preseason making sure the 13-15 "starting" players were well versed in the new offense. It's also clear that major tweaks are needed in this offense to better match the Chargers personnel vs the players McDaniel had in Miami. Perhaps the styles of Harbaugh and McDaniel were always destined to mix like oil and water.

Another problem: Harbaugh / McDaniel do not know the best 11 players on offense.

• The experiment to rotate Awosika and Pipkins at left guard in the first game against Arizona was absurd. No one does this in an NFL game, and now both players are injured. One might argue that Biadasz's injury is the result of the crazy prolonged left guard battle in training camp, with Awosika trying to prove himself by throwing a defender into Biadasz's knee. To be clear, this is not Hortiz's fault; it's the fault of Harbaugh / McDaniel.
• The decision to prioritize David Njoku over Gadsden stunted Gadsden's growth and ultimately amounted to nothing when Njoku tipped a ball for an interception and then subsequently got injured in the second game.
• The decision to prioritize QJ continues to haunt the team. QJ has specific talents and needs to be used a certain way. QJ is not an X receiver, despite his height and speed, but the team keeps trying to force that square peg into a round hole. QJ's drops have been key contributors to the 0-3 start.
• The decision to sign McDaniel coached free agents, Cole Strange and Alec Ingold, for continuity has backfired. For the most part, Strange and Ingold have been two of the worst players in this offense.
• The decision to play Penning at left guard now even though he appears to be the worst performing offensive lineman on the roster. The same roster that started the season with 11 active offensive linemen (!) and three more on reserve lists. With so many other options, it's inexcusable that Penning is playing.

In short, Harbaugh and McDaniel need to have a serious look in the mirror, put away their priors, and get to work creating a functional offense focused on those players who should actually be playing. Or perhaps the cynics are right and Herbert is not as good as I think he is.

Final Thoughts

• The season, which looked so promising, is probably over after 3 weeks given the upcoming schedule.
• The defense has been performing as expected through 3 weeks given the change in defensive coordinator from the excellent Jesse Minter to the green Chris O'Leary.
• The offense was expected to take off and become top 5 in the NFL, offsetting the expected regression on defense. Instead, the Chargers have one of the worst offenses in the league.
• If the offense is permanently broken, the Chargers will be drafting high in 2027.
• If the above happens, at least one of Harbaugh / McDaniel / Herbert will need to go.