It’s never good when NFL coaches on struggling teams have to publicly reaffirm their faith in members of their staff before the calendar turns to October — and that’s what Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh did on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in the wake of a 24-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Harbaugh was asked if he would consider taking some control away from offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel if the offense doesn’t improve.
“No, we trust Mike. We believe in Mike,” Harbaugh said.
It would be odd for Harbaugh to publicly admit to anything else at this point, especially because he’s not in a good position to do much else to salvage the season. Harbaugh has never called plays at the NFL level and must hope McDaniel and Justin Herbert can fix the NFL’s No. 21-ranked offense (309 yards per game) if the Chargers have any chance of becoming the eighth team in NFL history to reach the postseason after an 0-3 start.
“We’re searching for every possible way to give ourselves an advantage,” Harbaugh said. “Every possible way to not beat ourselves.”
Although Harbaugh doesn’t see himself intervening on McDaniel’s turf, he does want to see improvement from Herbert. The quarterback struggled against the Bills, failing to capitalize on five takeaways from the Chargers’ defense. He passed for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but four trips to the red zone — two of which were assisted by favorable field position off takeaways — resulted in only three field goals and a touchdown.
“To be better,” said Harbaugh, regarding Herbert’s decision-making. “That drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach, that drives Mike [McDaniel]. … I mean, drives us all.”
Herbert isn’t the only underperformer. Dropped passes from wide receiver Quentin Johnston and tight end Oronde Gadsden II were factors in the Bills becoming the first team since the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 season wild-card playoffs to win despite five turnovers and a minus-four turnover differential.
The team the Jaguars beat that January? The Chargers.
That’s why the seventh-year quarterback cut off a reporter’s question about whether the team’s locker room needs heightened vocal leadership as the Chargers carry an 0-2 record into Sunday’s road game against the unbeaten Buffalo Bills.
“I think I’m going to stop you right there,” Herbert said. “We’ve got great leadership on this team. I trust those guys in that locker room, so I don’t think anyone has panicked or worried because that’s not going to do us any good.
“It’s [about] moving on to the next play and understanding we’re close, we made mistakes, how do we fix it and how do we move on?”
Herbert’s intense messaging was surprising. The quarterback usually speaks in emotionless platitudes during news conferences.
But that response, or leadership — a trait teammates and coaches see far more from Herbert than the public — is one of several reasons why the Chargers are supporting their quarterback despite the offense’s sloppy start to the season.
“Ain’t anybody giving up on anything,” wide receiver Tre’ Harris said. “Everybody’s still on the same page. Everybody has extreme belief in 10 — I know I do — and extreme belief in [offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel] as well. We’ll go out there and do what we need to do.”
The Chargers are averaging just 14 points per game, above only the winless Miami Dolphins (13) and the 1-1 Pittsburgh Steelers (11.5).
And Herbert is partially responsible.
He ranks 27th in completion percentage (59.3%) through two weeks and is 23rd in passing yards (401) with the second-most interceptions (3).
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked by Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jordan Burch on Sept. 13.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Herbert just hasn’t looked comfortable in yet another new scheme. But, as usual with him, context is key.
With a revolving door at left guard and rookie Jake Slaughter starting at center, the Chargers have allowed the league’s second-highest pressure rate (45.5%), according to Pro Football Focus.
Herbert’s pass-catchers have been inconsistent, too, struggling with pre-snap communication, frustrating — sometimes comical — drops and, of course, injuries.
The offense overall is having too many fumbles (7), penalties (15 for 109 yards) and other self-inflicted wounds. So while Herbert’s stats aren’t pretty, the Chargers’ woes go beyond his performances.
They have Herbert’s back, though, as they collectively sort things out.
“He’s been locked in [and] dialed in, man,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “He’s working hard in the weight room [and] making all his throws out there. So, I can’t wait to try to get him some stops on Sunday.”
Then, there’s the McDaniel factor.
He admitted that he thought the Chargers would score more than 28 points thus far. As a result, he is considering “everything” moving forward, including shrinking the playbook.
McDaniel added that he and Herbert are “much closer” than they were two weeks ago as they work through the offensive struggles.
“It can be a lonely world as a starting quarterback — that’s a franchise quarterback — when you have successive losses,” McDaniel said. “It can be lonely as a playcaller [or] offensive coordinator. And the only way to approach it is that you’re not alone.”
The Chargers and their turbulent offense are on the verge of starting 0-3 for the first time since 2017.
Many outsiders are looking to Herbert to save the franchise from an abysmal season not many projected.
But to those in the building? They just want Herbert to be Herbert.
“One thing that separates him from a lot of other leaders … he’s the same person, each and every day, consistently great at everything he does,” said reserve quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
After all, when Herbert’s comfortable, he’s arguably among the league’s top signal-callers.
“Since I’ve been with Justin, there’s not a thing I’d change about Justin,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
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.
But the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator knows his unit must show urgency and improvement Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders after a rude wake-up call in the season opener.
“You have a lot of visions coming to a new team and working on something for months. The vision never looked like that,” McDaniel said of the Chargers’ 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. “That’s the beautiful thing about football; like life, time spent forecasting [and] visualizing things going a certain way … no one cares about that.
“So, it was a case of humble pie.”
Quarterback Justin Herbert never looked fully comfortable. He completed 17 of 27 passes with 207 yards, one touchdown and one back-breaking interception.
The time-of-possession disparity also played a big role in the loss, with the Cardinals controlling the ball roughly 15 minutes longer.
Herbert knows that can’t happen again.
“It’s another opportunity for us to go play football, to be better, and to put our brand of work out there,” Herbert said. “I don’t think we were happy or content with [the] Week 1 effort. So, we’re doing everything we can to fix it and be better.”
Facing a Maxx Crosby-led Raiders defense that held McDaniel’s former team, the Miami Dolphins, to 13 points in Week 1, the Chargers are focusing on often-overlooked aspects, such as understanding assignments, communicating more clearly, cleaning up penalties and operating as a collective.
“These are elementary things,” McDaniel said.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert celebrates with coach Jim Harbaugh, center, and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel after a touchdown against the Cardinals on Sept. 13.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
The offense will need more production from several players, especially if wideout Ladd McConkey, who is questionable to play with a rib injury, is unavailable.
Wide receivers Quentin Johnston and Tre’ Harris, who each saw six targets in Week 1, should see increased involvement, as should speedy rookie Brenen Thompson.
“He’s been really good,” coach Jim Harbaugh said of Thompson. “Great opportunity for him [and a] great challenge.”
Tight end Oronde Gadsden II is another player who could play a key role in a revitalized passing attack.
“I would expect [Gadsden] to be more involved outside of an unforeseen situation where the game and the parameters with which you’re playing change, in which case we’ll address that,” McDaniel said.
Perhaps the most important player to watch Sunday will be Omarion Hampton. The second-year running back had just 12 carries for 43 yards and one touchdown while also losing a fumble against the Cardinals.
“Really just flush [Week 1],” Hampton said about the Chargers’ approach to facing the Raiders. “[And] look at all the stuff we can work on. Come back, regroup as a team, talk about what we need to do to move forward and make it not happen again.
“We all think the same thing … urgent to get how we want to play. That’s really the main thing going on in the locker room.”
Changes also will be apparent on the offensive line.
Trey Pipkins III (knee) won’t play against the Raiders, ending the rotation at left guard, at least for now. And while the team would rather be at full strength, Kayode Awosika — who played well against the Cardinals — will get a chance to prove himself without sharing snaps.
Nonetheless, as McDaniel emphasized, talk of expectations and adjustments don’t matter — it’s what shows up on film that does.
Good thing the Chargers’ new play-caller craves adversity.
“It’s been my favorite week of my employment here,” McDaniel said. “Because — I know [through] my experience in this league — do not measure anything beyond how a group of people handles adversity in the National Football League.
Jake Slaughter’s teammates could only laugh as the rookie center was swarmed by reporters asking him questions in the Chargers’ locker room.
“I don’t think he does too good with the cameras and stuff,” Isaiah World said as he recorded the spectacle with his phone. “He’s real old school.”
Whether he minds it or not, the precocious 23-year-old is living in the spotlight. Slaughter enters the Chargers’ season opener against the Arizona Cardinals as the starting center.
The second-round pick out of Florida took over the role after Tyler Biadasz, who signed a three-year deal with the Chargers last offseason, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in practice last month.
“Jake didn’t bat an eye,” offensive tackle Rashawn Slater said. “The way he’s built … he’s not going to hesitate.”
The 6-foot-4, 308-pound Slaughter, who started 33 games at center at Florida, is ready for his moment.
“You’re kind of foolish if you go into a football season not thinking you’re going to be the guy at some point,” Slaughter said. “You got to prepare like you’re going to play every snap of every series, every game … and that’s kind of been my approach since I’ve been here.”
At the time of Biadasz’s injury, Slaughter was a leading candidate in the team’s left guard competition. But the Chargers knew from the day they drafted him that he was fully capable of playing center if needed.
“Truthfully, I was like, dude, he’s going to be able to do either one,” general manager Joe Hortiz said.
Chargers defensive end Akheem Mesidor isn’t surprised by Slaughter’s seamless adjustment to center. The former edge rusher at the University of Miami remembers Slaughter’s time at Florida well.
“When we would scout him … it was always like … ‘I don’t like him,’” Mesidor said. “But then you get to meet him in person — he’s a great guy, bro. … Nothing like we portrayed him.”
Slaughter has shown the most important trait in new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s system: conviction.
Grasping all of McDaniel’s concepts is no easy feat — even if they’re all Slaughter knows at the professional level. Yet the Chargers’ newest playcaller has been impressed with Slaughter’s comprehension and attention to detail.
“You can’t really compliment him. Not because he turns it down; he’s just not interested in hearing about his good play,” McDaniel said. “He wants to be corrected, and he wants to do the job right for the team. I feel like he’s wise … where he gets that regard, respect and trust of veterans — the end-all, be-all for rookies; he understands that.”
“You can tell he’s confident out there,” offensive tackle Joe Alt added. “We trust him. He trusts us.”
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert built trust with Slaughter this preseason.
(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)
Slaughter also has built trust with the franchise’s most important player: Justin Herbert.
The Chargers need to do a better job of protecting the seventh-year quarterback — and Slaughter needs to play a key role in that effort.
“He’s been awesome,” Herbert said. “He’s done such a great job of picking up the offense and playing like a veteran out there. Great to have a guy like that. He’s playing a lot earlier than I think he would have thought, but that hasn’t slowed him down.”
Slaughter credits his teammates and coaches for getting him up to speed after he was thrown into the fire.
Wide receiver Ladd McConkey said the locker room has “bought into” the Chargers’ new starting center. Offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III, meanwhile, took his praise for Slaughter a step further.
“He might be one of the smartest rookies I’ve ever seen,” Pipkins said.
Slaughter, however, earned veteran approval long before any cameras were crammed in his face. Coach Jim Harbaugh insisted he knew Slaughter was a starting-caliber player in early August.
“You know when you see it,” Harbaugh said.
But before the rookie can lose himself in any pressure or nerves on Sunday, he’s simply happy for the opportunity.
“That’s an experience I hope I’ll never forget,” Slaughter said about his upcoming NFL debut. “Something I really never thought I’d get to do growing up. It’s a really unique honor, and I’m really thankful I can be out there and play ball.”
