The Los Angeles Chargers recently found out what their full 2026 schedule will look like.
Unfortunately for the Chargers, they got the short end of the stick in the scheduling department. According to ESPN, the Chargers have one of the hardest schedules in the league for 2026. Only eight teams figure to have a tougher slate in 2026, so if the Chargers want to return to the postseason, they'll have to earn it.
However, there's one particular stretch of the schedule that is especially brutal, and that's why the Chargers were identified as one of the biggest losers following the reveal.
Why the Chargers are among NFL's biggest losers regarding schedule
I already mentioned that eight teams technically have harder paths than the Chargers, so why are the Chargers considered a major loser?
Well, it's for one particularly tough stretch that will make any fan nervous. Garrett Podell of CBS Sports believes the Chargers' Week 3-Week 10 stretch might be the "most difficult stretch" any team has to face all season. Podell offered the following analysis:
The Los Angeles Chargers might be the owners of the most difficult stretch on any of the NFL's 32 schedules in 2026. The Chargers have a seven-game stretch in which they will face the Buffalo Bills, the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles, the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens.
That group is composed of five teams that won playoff games in the 2025 season, and the two that didn't, the Chiefs and the Ravens, both have multiple-time NFL MVP winners at quarterback. All seven squads rank in the top 100 in FanDuel Sportsbook's Super Bowl odds.
As Podell mentioned, during this seven-week stretch, the Chargers have to play five teams that not only made the postseason last year, but won at least one playoff game. The two that didn't, the Chiefs and Ravens, easily could this year, and still boast two of the best quarterbacks of this generation.
It's not bad enough that the Chargers have to face all of these contenders. They also have to face several players who figure to be in the MVP conversation as well during this stretch.
Finally, making things EVEN WORSE, five of these games are on the road. The Chargers couldn't even be lucky enough to play these games at home.
How the team handles this stretch will tell us a ton about their chances in 2026. There's a scenario where this stretch completely buries the team, but there's also a possibility it vaults the team into the contender conversation.
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