Someday, the Los Angeles Chargers will emerge from their offense’s dysfunctional start to the 2026 season.
When they do, will Justin Herbert have the necessary faith and trust in the whole operation?
Under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, the seventh-year QB’s fifth playcaller/designer, L.A. (0-5) has fielded the NFL’s sloppiest offense and regressed in coach Jim Harbaugh’s third season.
The dysfunction through five games has exceeded what fans perceive on Sundays, to hear former NFL players who break down football film.
Here’s former All-Pro right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who played under McDaniel’s longtime mentor Kyle Shanahan and spent most of his career under Andy Reid, the great Kansas City Chiefs head coach and playcaller:
“Things I was VERY wrong about: 1) Wanting McDaniel to be OC for the Chiefs to design an offense for (Patrick) Mahomes and this OL; 2) Herbert for MVP bandwagon,” Schwartz posted on X.
Former NFL quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan churns out deep-dive film analysis on NFL and college quarterbacks for his popular YouTube page, The QB School.
In breaking down L.A.’s offensive film for subscribers, O’Sullivan has struggled to keep his composure:
“This is difficult, difficult film to watch,” O’Sullivan.
He also has said: “I don’t even pretend to understand what this is … just shockingly unsound .. .this is a disaster unit right now.”
“I honestly, actually empathize with the guys in the building trying to figure out how we’re going to solve this from an offensive standpoint,” O’Sullivan said amid his breakdown of the Week 4 loss at Seattle. “You’ve got to basically try to create a bubble for Herbert. To get back to at least have the capacity and opportunity to flourish in what he can do. Because it looks like we’re out there struggling in just every phase.”
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert fumbles on the last play of the game against Denver at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Herbert, 28, has come off as the quintessential company man since he joined L.A. — his childhood dream team — as the No. 6 pick in 2020. He’s never uttered a whiff of public criticism about anyone associated with the team
The quarterback, whose five-year, $262-million extension runs through 2029, isn’t the offense’s only star player off to a subpar start.
Tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, who are attempting to learn a new system and also come back from severe injuries, have had their own profound difficulties. O’Sullivan has marveled at some of Slater’s footwork, and not in a good way.
Receiver Ladd McConkey had a terrific half-plus to begin the season, then suffered rib and foot injuries.
Though Herbert’s $46.3-million salary cap charge stands second among NFL quarterbacks, he’s not as talented as QBs like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, both of whom can overcome pervasive challenges week after week.
So, notwithstanding the laudable improvements by Chris O’Leary’s L.A. defense, Herbert could be staring at his most challenging NFL season by far.
He probably can’t count on the offensive line rising to league-average status anytime soon. With Alt out, the unit started four rookies in Sunday’s 23-17 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Absent McConkey’s return to full health, Herbert may be throwing to the NFL’s least-capable pass-catching group. It’s been a very bumpy five-game start for 30-year-old fullback Alec Ingold, an expert in McDaniel’s system,
“I can only imagine the frustration from Herbert,” O’Sullivan said. He added: “Herbert is not playing flawlessly by any means.”
L.A.’s brain trust surely knows that even an ultra-loyal QB’s patience isn’t infinite.
Quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matthew Stafford came into the NFL as No. 1 picks. As often happens to top picks, they went to NFL franchises that didn’t do a great job of supporting them. Each QB hung in there for about a decade, then asked out.
Both QBs found that, indeed, the grass was greener elsewhere.
Palmer, who pushed the Cincinnati Bengals into trading him at age 31, had success with the Oakland Raiders and found bliss with the Arizona Cardinals at age 35. He thrived under coach Bruce Arians and alongside Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald, posting his best statistical season and leading the team to a 13-3 record and the NFC title game.
Stafford, rewarded for nudging the Detroit Lions to trade him at age 32, won a Super Bowl in his first year with the Los Angeles Rams and claimed the NFL MVP award in his fifth season in the Kroenke Dome. The Rams supplied Stafford with a top-flight head coach/playcaller in Sean McVay, an adequate offensive line, a sturdy defense and star playmakers. Rams owner Stan Kroenke and general manager Les Snead crafted a go-for-it, cash-intensive approach, boosting Stafford’s odds of success.
This summer, NFL personnel men ranked Herbert the NFL’s sixth-best quarterback in a survey by The Athletic’s Mike Sando.
It seems safe to assume, then, that if a 30-something Herbert found himself in a situation similar to Palmer and Stafford years down the road, NFL teams would be interested in acquiring him.