The Los Angeles Chargers have lost two games at home by identical 26-14 scores to two teams that went 3-14 last season. There is a record for that. It is 100 years old.
The Stat Is Worse Than It Sounds
Per Opta, the Chargers are the second team in NFL history to lose back-to-back games by double digits, both at home, both against opponents with a sub-.200 winning percentage the previous year.
The only other team to manage it was the 1926 Racine Tornadoes, who played one more game after that and then folded as a franchise.
Arizona did it in Week 1. Las Vegas did it Sunday. Both finished 3-14 in 2025, and the Raiders’ record was bad enough by tiebreaker to earn the No. 1 overall pick.
Herbert Has Been Part of the Problem
Justin Herbert’s two-game line: 32-of-53 for 401 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, six sacks and a lost fumble.
Against Arizona he went 17-of-27 for 209 yards with a touchdown to Ladd McConkey and an interception. Against the Raiders he was 15-of-26 for 192 yards with a 10-yard touchdown to Oronde Gadsden and two picks.
Herbert is not the root cause here, and anyone who has watched him play behind this offensive line knows that. But 401 yards in two home games from a quarterback of his talent is not a supporting-cast problem alone.
The Offensive Line Is a Choice
This is where the roster construction argument gets uncomfortable. Herbert was under constant pressure throughout 2025. The Chargers used their first 2026 pick on Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor instead of addressing the line.
Sunday, left tackle Joe Alt committed three false starts plus a holding call that resulted in a safety. Cameron Dicker, who entered having made 59 of 63 kicks at home, hit the crossbar from 58. Omarion Hampton fumbled for a second consecutive week. Tight end David Njoku was carted off with a knee injury.
Everything that can go wrong is going wrong at once, and the common thread is a team that is not built to absorb any of it.
Harbaugh Has Never Been Here
Jim Harbaugh coached his 100th career game Sunday and started 0-2 for the first time at any level, college or professional. That is a remarkable run of competence to have finally broken.
He was not conceding anything afterward, saying he is not deterred. Harbaugh teams generally do respond. The problem is that the schedule is not offering him a soft landing.
Buffalo Is Next
The Chargers travel to Buffalo in Week 3 for their first road game of the season. An 0-3 start against the Bills is entirely plausible, and it would put Los Angeles in a hole that only a handful of teams in NFL history have climbed out of.
The Raiders and Cardinals were supposed to be the two worst teams in the AFC and NFC West respectively. Both walked into SoFi Stadium and won by 12. Until the Chargers can explain how that happened twice, the 1926 comparison is going to keep following them around.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.