The Los Angeles Chargers came into Week 4 with electric expectations for their 2026 NFL season, their third under coach Jim Harbaugh, but after our reigning Super Bowl 60 champion Seahawks handed them a brutal 30-23 loss at Seattle, those dreams are officially done. Jim Harbaugh’s squad is now a catastrophic 0-4, and let’s be real, their AFC playoff hopes are dead in the water. Historically, only one team starting 0-4 has ever made the playoffs, the 1992 Chargers, who scraped into the AFC West title at 11-5. The odds are stacked sky-high against these Chargers pulling off that kind of comeback.
No Juice, Just Zeroes: This Chargers Team Is Flat Out Bad
After falling to our Hawks, Harbaugh’s team is buried in last place, giving off some seriously bad energy. Forget “Chargering” by losing tough, tight games; these guys are just straight-up bad across the board. They’ve been outscored by the Cardinals, Raiders, Bills, and our Seahawks by a combined 106-67. Think about that for a second. They haven’t scored more than 23 points in a game, and they haven’t given up fewer than 24 points. That’s a brutal trend that shows a complete lack of cohesion on both sides of the ball. It’s shocking how much they’re struggling under Harbaugh, and there’s little to no chance they’ll duplicate the 11-6 wild-card worthy finishes they had in the previous two seasons.
Herbert’s Struggles Are The Real Problem Under McDaniel
The heart of the problem starts with quarterback Justin Herbert, who has been mostly terrible in Mike McDaniel’s offense. We all expected a huge season from Herbert with McDaniel replacing Greg Roman as offensive coordinator and calling the plays. Instead, before he even faced our Hawks, Herbert was completing only 59.1 percent of his passes with a dismal 5.8 average net yards per attempt. He had just 3 touchdowns to 4 interceptions through three games, contributing to an awful 73.4 passer rating. Then he showed up against our Seahawks and played right to those numbers, going 19-of-31 for 189 yards, 5.4 yards per attempt, a single touchdown, and two more interceptions, finishing with an 89.3 rating. He was also sacked three more times, bringing his season total to 12, an average of three sacks a game!
The Chargers are trying to stay balanced, running a 54-46 passing split with McDaniel going into Week 4. Even when trailing big against our defense, they still had 32 rushing attempts to go with Herbert’s 35 dropbacks. They’re trying to take pressure off him, but getting intercepted on his very first pass attempt against our Seahawks set an early, terrible tone for the game. Credit where it’s due, they did manage to put together 147 rushing yards against our defense, which will bump them up from being the No. 12 rushing attack in the NFL, but their passing offense will dip down from No. 21. Herbert is really struggling to push the ball downfield and use that big arm of his. Quentin Johnson has become a non-factor downfield, and Tre Harris is just getting comfortable in the primary deep threat role.
A Gauntlet Ahead: No Easy Road Out of This Mess
If you think things can’t get worse for the Chargers, just check out their upcoming schedule. They’ve got the Broncos coming to town, then they’re at the Chiefs, a bye week (their only guaranteed non-loss!), then at the Rams, vs. the Texans, and at the Ravens. Later on, they’ll face the Patriots, the 49ers, and then once again the Raiders, Broncos, and Chiefs. With no games against fellow 0-4 teams like Houston, Tampa Bay, or Miami, that Week 7 bye is literally the only relief on the horizon. The Chargers are toast.
While the Chargers stare down a season that’s already gone off the rails, our Super Bowl champion Seahawks are already looking ahead. What a way to put a stamp on their disastrous start.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
Leave a Reply