Once is a hiccup.
Twice is a habit.
Maybe this is what the Chargers are — lurching, sputtering and unable to consistently move the football, despite an offensive overhaul packed with high expectations.
Just as they did in their abysmal season opener, the Chargers struggled at home Sunday and failed to establish a rhythm on their way to a 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chargers lost their opener to the Arizona Cardinals by an identical score — 26-14.
A week after losing an opener for the first time in his career as an NFL head coach, Jim Harbaugh is off to his first 0-2 start as a coach in college or the pros.
It won’t get any easier. The Chargers play at Buffalo on Sunday against the 2-0 Bills, who have scored a combined 77 points in victories over the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions.
After that, the Chargers play at Seattle, at home against Denver, at Kansas City, and against the Rams as rare visitors at SoFi Stadium. Four opponents, four Super Bowl-winning coaches.
These first two games were supposed to be the soft start, of at least a relatively gentle ramp-up to the thorny part of the schedule.
Well, that’s out the window. The Chargers were dominated by Arizona, a team that won just three games last season, then dropped another home game to the Raiders. As head coach of the Chargers, Harbaugh had won all four of his previous matchups against Las Vegas.
The Chargers last started 0-2 in 2023, when they went on to finish 5-12.
Sunday, the Chargers were unable to get the ball downfield and repeatedly committed penalties and miscues that short-circuited drives. For instance, normally sturdy tackle Joe Alt was flagged for false starts three times.
Snapshot of another major problem: Trailing by a field goal late in the third quarter, the Chargers had a third-and-inches on their side of the field. They could have run a tush-push with 6-foot-6 Justin Herbert. They could have used 220-pound running back Omarion Hampton to hammer up the middle for a first down.
Instead, they had Herbert drop back into shotgun and sent Tre’ Harris in motion from right to left. Then, they snapped the ball at the precise moment the receiver was between center Jake Slaughter and the quarterback. The snap bounced off Harris’ knee, Herbert had to pounce on the loose ball and the threat was thwarted.
The normally stoic Herbert couldn’t hide his frustration. He appeared to angrily yell before retreating to the home sideline.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert reacts after an offensive holding penalty on Joe Alt results in a safety late in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Raiders.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Later, with slightly less than four minutes remaining, when the Chargers seemingly had a bit of momentum. They had just gotten a first down on a Raiders penalty — 12 men on defense — and had inched across the 50.
Herbert handed off to Hampton on a draw, and the second-year back was met by linebacker Nakobe Dean and promptly fumbled — one of six on the day for the Chargers. Safety Jeremy Chinn scooped up the ball and returned it 43 yards to the 16.
The final insult came on the Chargers’ last possession when Alt drew a holding penalty while trying to stop pass rusher Maxx Crosby, resulting in a safety.
Raiders fans at SoFi Stadium erupted in glee. For the Chargers, that singsong, taunting “Raiii-derrrs” chant will surely haunt their dreams. The TV cameras didn’t help matters, finding a lone Chargers fan amid an ocean of Raiders fans, a blue dot bobbing in a silver-and-black sea.
Three plays later, Kirk Cousins found Cody White with an 11-yard pass, the second touchdown of the day for the erstwhile practice-squad receiver.
The Chargers took a 14-10 lead midway through the third quarter when Herbert connected with tight end Oronde Gadsden II for a 10-yard touchdown.
But the Raiders responded on the ensuing possession when Cousins threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to White to put Las Vegas up, 17-14.
A key play in that drive showed the creativity of Klint Kubiak, in his first season as coach of the Raiders. Cousins took the snap and pitched the ball to Ashton Jeanty, who in turn threw it back to Cousins.
The quarterback then hit a wide-open Dareke Young for a 27-yard gain, giving the Raiders the ball deep in Chargers territory.
The Raiders led at halftime, 10-7, breaking a tie with four seconds remaining in the second quarter when Matt Gay kicked a 59-yard field goal.
Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half, and each quarterback was picked off.
The Raiders scored first on a 40-yard touchdown reception by Tre Tucker, who was so wide open behind the defense he was able to turn and wait for the ball to arrive.
The Chargers answered in the second quarter when Hampton pounded across the goal line from the one.
That’s something the Raiders failed to do at the end of the opening quarter, when they had a first-and-goal from the four, yet couldn’t score on four consecutive Jeanty runs.
The Chargers had a similarly frustrating moment in the first quarter when Herbert found tight end David Njoku behind the Las Vegas defense and delivered the ball for what should have been a big gain.
Njoku bobbled the pass, however, and the ball was grabbed by rookie safety Hezekiah Masses, who had another pick in the fourth quarter during his first career start.
Making matters worse, Njoku suffered a knee injury on the play and did not return.