The Los Angeles Chargers entered their bye week at 0-6 after a 22-6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is at the center of the franchise’s most urgent decision. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said afterward that the team must “address everything, especially offensively,” but stopped short of announcing any changes.
Locked On Chargers host Daniel Wade said the six-point performance made an in-season move feel like a necessary possibility, particularly with two weeks before the next game. Locked On Chargers co-host David Droegemeier pointed to a season-long offensive slide rather than a one-game breakdown, citing the unit’s poor scoring, turnovers and third-down results.
Quarterback Justin Herbert’s struggles have been undeniable. He has thrown eight interceptions through six games, and the offense again failed to convert its best opportunity at Arrowhead Stadium. Herbert’s 57-yard completion to wide receiver Quentin Johnston put the Chargers at the 1-yard line early in the second half, but a holding penalty and subsequent failed plays forced a field goal instead of a potential one-score game.
Wade and Droegemeier also focused on the accumulating self-inflicted mistakes. The hosts cited an 0-for-3 day in the red zone, a fumble by wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith that gave Kansas City a short field, and protection breakdowns that repeatedly put Herbert under pressure. Tight end Oronde Gadsden II also could not secure a difficult end-zone throw after the penalty pushed the offense back from the goal line.
The defense kept the game from getting away despite allowing early production to Patrick Mahomes and Kenneth Walker III. It held the Chiefs to 22 points, made a goal-line stand and got an interception, yet the offense could not turn those moments into a comeback. The Chargers cannot solve every roster problem during the bye, but they need a functional plan for an offense that has not given Herbert or the defense enough support.
The bye gives Harbaugh and his staff time to determine whether McDaniel will continue calling plays and how the offense can improve. The Chargers return in Week 8 on Sunday, Nov. 1, against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
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