In the ongoing analysis of what went haywire in the Chargers’ season-opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, what stands out is how many things went haywire during a 26-14 loss. It wasn’t fair to say every single thing went wrong because that wasn’t true.
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What was factual was that the Chargers didn’t perform to their standards from start to finish, and they paid a steep price for it during an unexpected defeat. Here’s what we learned, what we heard and what comes next after they squandered a chance to start the season on a high note:
CREDIT THE CARDINALS
Arizona didn’t walk onto the SoFi Stadium turf and accept its fate as 9½-point underdogs going into the game. The Cardinals sprinted out of the tunnel from their locker room and they didn’t stop sprinting until they had handed rookie head coach Mike LaFleur his first NFL victory.
You could see it in the way quarterback Jacoby Brissett maneuvered the Cardinals down the field on their opening possession, navigating 70 yards in 11 plays over 6:11 with remarkable poise and ease. Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love sprinted around the left end for a 5-yard touchdown.
Easy.
Too easy, as it turned out.
The Chargers responded with Omarion Hampton’s 8-yard touchdown run that capped an impressive 77-yard, eight-play drive that took only 4:27. Quarterback Justin Herbert completed all three of his passes on the drive, all to wide receiver Ladd McConkey for a total of 60 yards.
Easy.
Not so easy to be repeated, as it turned out.
What happened next was that the Cardinals continued to play with an obvious sense of purpose and the Chargers wandered off course, no doubt because Arizona denied them an easy path to victory. It started with Cardinals safety Andrew Wingard forcing Hampton to fumble on the Chargers’ second possession of the game.
The Chargers’ third possession ended when the Cardinals’ Dante Stills barged through the offensive line to sack Herbert on a fourth-and-goal play from Arizona’s 3-yard line with two minutes left in the half. A chip shot field goal by Cameron Dicker would have tied the score, 10-10.
The second half began with the Chargers’ opening drive fizzling, forcing a punt. Herbert then directed the Chargers to a touchdown on their second third-quarter possession. But then they had a punt blocked in the fourth quarter, an interception by Wingard and two turnovers on downs.
Ballgame, and a bad debut for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and new defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary.
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“IT’S EMBARRASSING”
Tight end Charlie Kolar did not mince words when asked by Channel 2’s Chris Hayre about the mistake-prone Chargers’ play. Kolar, who signed with the Chargers as a free agent in March after four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, did not hold back in his postgame analysis.
“Just not good enough, plain and simple,” he said. “Gotta be more efficient on first and second downs. (Can’t have) procedure penalties. Gotta be better protecting Justin. Gotta be better running the ball. Overall, just not good enough. It’s the NFL, you can’t walk out there and put a crappy performance out there and expect anything good to happen.
“That’s a good football team (Arizona) that showed up ready to play and we were a football team that did not show up to play. As a human being, if you’re not more motivated after this, there’s just issues. I see it as, look at ourselves in the mirror and be better, plain and simple.
“Overall, offensively, it was just a (poor) performance, and that starts with myself and the leaders in this team, and that’s just a bad performance. It’s embarrassing.”
NOT-SO-FUN FACT
The Chargers haven’t scored more than two touchdowns in a game since their 34-17 victory last Dec. 21 over the Dallas Cowboys, which extended their winning streak to four in a row. They ended the 2025 season with a 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans, a 19-3 loss to the Denver Broncos and a 16-3 defeat to the New England Patriots in an AFC wild-card game.
WHAT COMES NEXT
The Chargers (0-1) play host to the Las Vegas Raiders (1-0) next Sunday at SoFi Stadium. A repeat showing would drop them to 0-2 with road games ahead against the Buffalo Bills (1-0) and the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks (1-0), and the distinct possibility of a lost season.
The Raiders warmed up for the Chargers with a 27-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins with 15-year veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins throwing three touchdown passes to top 300 for his career. Running back Aston Jeanty rushed for 102 yards and caught six passes for 45 additional yards.
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