In their first chance to put aside last week's debacle against the Cardinals, the Chargers moved quickly into Raiders territory, but the drive fizzled when tight end Oronde Gadsden II gave his best defensive-back impression, diving to bat down a pass intended for Brenen Thompson.
In a chance to take advantage of the Raiders' own slow start, two possessions later, Justin Herbert found David Njoku open deep. Some offensive momentum finally seemed possible for the Chargers ... until Njoku bobbled the ball right into the arms of Jermod McCoy.
The offensive blunders kept coming: Trailing by three late in the third quarter, an offensive snap hit Tre Harris in motion, and what should have been an easy third-down conversion became a punt. Herbert slammed the turf twice in frustration. And, finally, in a chance to prove that, despite all the mistakes, despite all the ugliness, despite, well, everything, the Chargers could get to 1-1 and stop the bleeding for at least one week, Omarion Hampton fumbled in Raiders territory. Three plays later, the Raiders were back in the end zone.
Final: 26-14, Raiders — one week after 26-14, Cardinals. Two of the teams expected to be among the NFL's worst blasted their way past one expected to challenge the best.
"That's not up to our standard," Herbert said.
Unfortunately, though, this is the current standard of the Chargers. Their five turnovers are tied for second-most in the NFL, only behind the essentially quarterback-less Falcons. Their seven fumbles are the most in the NFL; they had six on Sunday alone. Their 13 offensive penalties are second-most. Herbert and Mike McDaniel were supposed to make sweet music, but through two games, the most appropriate music, on offense, would be "Yakety Sax." It has been a circus, and not the good kind.
Jim Harbaugh credited his team's "fight" and said they weren't "deterred." But what is going to get things going in the right direction? Last week, Harbaugh wished he had played his starters more in the preseason, but the preseason is long gone. Unfortunately, Harbaugh would love for his team to look ready for the preseason. They look like they're still learning the basics of the offense.
There was always a stylistic difference between what Herbert's been — a rocket-armed, stand-in-the-pocket-and-deliver-downfield quarterback — and McDaniel's quick-strike, motion-heavy offense. But the meld is far behind schedule. The Chargers are 21st in EPA per play on plays with motion. McDaniel's motion is complex, but it is supposed to help solve defenses and provide quick answers. Right now, it's only creating more problems for the offense. These things needed to be ironed out weeks ago.
And even when the ball is snapped smoothly, Herbert hasn't looked comfortable making the throws that McDaniel used to make Tua Tagovailoa the NFL's leading passer. From 2022-23, when Tagovailoa was at his best under McDaniel with the Miami Dolphins, 57% of Tagovailoa's throws came out in 2.5 seconds or fewer, by far the highest rate in the NFL. Herbert, by contrast, is currently at 33%, tied with Josh Allen for 24th in the league.
Therein lies an issue. At his best, Herbert has played stylistically much closer to Allen than Tagovailoa. Herbert's biggest advantage over Tagovailoa — his arm strength — can only be unlocked if the basics of the offense can function. For all of Tagovailoa's flaws, he was accurate and on time in the quick game.
Herbert currently has a 12.5% off-target rate on throws 15 yards or fewer downfield, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL this season through Sunday. Last year, it was 6.3%. Whatever the product is trying to be — the maximization of Herbert's physical skills and McDaniel's playbook — isn't happening.
When asked about how long it takes to adapt to new coordinators, a clearly frustrated Herbert went back to a familiar refrain.
"It wasn't good enough today. There's no time for us to be patient with how we were playing. It's not good enough, so we have to be better."
The NFL doesn't care if you have a new coordinator, or if your biggest free-agent addition — center Tyler Biadasz, who was expected to stabilize the interior offensive line — suffers a season-ending injury in training camp. It doesn't care about dropped passes (the Chargers had three, all on what would have been explosive plays). If you are not locked in each and every play, the NFL will expose it. The Chargers have had massive breakdowns on a handful of plays in both games so far.
Lest we only talk offense, the Chargers' defense hasn't exactly impressed, either. The Raiders, sans top receiving weapon Brock Bowers, hit on 10 completions of 10+ yards. Last year, under Jesse Minter, the Bolts allowed at least 10 completions of 10+ yards in only two games. They've already matched that total this season ... in two games.
Kirk Cousins tossed three touchdowns and was sacked just twice. Tre Tucker had 119 receiving yards and a 40-yard touchdown. Cody White caught two touchdown passes. With all due respect, those are not guys typically destroying defenses. The Chargers' defense was so good the past two years in large part because the scheme and coaching were so good, too. The sum far exceeded its parts. That's not happening this year with Minter, now the Ravens' head coach, and first-time coordinator Chris O'Leary now in charge of the defense in Los Angeles.
"Right now, it just looks trash," Derwin James Jr. said.
It almost feels cruel — or simply unnecessary, given what we've seen — to mention how difficult the schedule gets, too.
- Week 3 at Bills
- Week 4 at Seahawks
- Week 5 vs. Broncos
- Week 6 at Chiefs
- Week 7 BYE
- Week 8 at Rams
- Week 9 vs. Texans
- Week 10 at Ravens
Again, though, this is the NFL. There's nowhere to hide. The Chargers can say all the right things about taking accountability and improving. Still, it's stunning that it's gone so wrong.
