The Los Angeles Chargers will enter the 2026 season armed with lofty expectations under Jim Harbaugh.
After back-to-back 11-win seasons, the Chargers hired Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator, and look to have Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater back from injury. Plus, they signed Tyler Biadasz as their starting center.
That's a good starting point in getting the most out of Justin Herbert in 2026.
But as the NFL dropped the entire 2026 schedule, as CBS Sports' John Breech explains, L.A.'s season could be over midway through the year.
"From Sept. 21 through Nov. 7, the Chargers will only play one home game," Breech wrote. "Again, that's a span of 47 days where the Chargers will play just one game at home. During that span, the Chargers have a five-game stretch where they play four road games in five weeks and that that could end up deciding their season."
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Chargers face horror stretch
Breech mentions those games in that five-week span, and that's tough enough as the Chargers will face the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Los Angeles Rams.
But I'll go a step further, and after the Week 8 game against the Rams, the Chargers' daunting schedule doesn't let up.
They will then face the Houston Texans at home before the Baltimore Ravens on the road.
So, a seven-game stretch sees the Chargers face the Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs, Rams, Texans, and Ravens. By Week 10, the Chargers' season could be over unless they emerge from that brutal gauntlet in great shape.
For a team under pressure to deliver, the NFL didn't do them any favors, as their season could be gone by Week 10 if things go wrong.
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