SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles) – Despondent, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert sat next to offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel on the bench toward the end of their disappointing 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Both of them seemed to have an unpleasant conversation about how to put the parts together.
It was supposed to look different, but through two games, the Herbert-McDaniel marriage it was a failure. This new offense, led by the most coveted offensive coordinator in this coaching cycle last offseason, has remained in neutral.
“Shoot the OC,” one longtime NFL scout told me when asked how to fix Herbert, placing the blame squarely on McDaniel. “Go back to a scheme that fits him. NFL rookie QBs need coaches to match their strengths and weaknesses – not match the coach’s scheme to the QB.”
The numbers are not pretty. Herbert is 23rd in passing yards (401), 28th in passer rating (71.6) and tied for third in interceptions (3). The Chargers are 29th in the NFL in scoring (14 points per game) and have generated just three 20-yard passing games.
The Chargers had six tackles against the Raiders. Pro Bowl right tackle Joe Alt leads the league in penalties with five.
In a preseason conversation with McDaniels, he told me the focus during the offseason was on creating an offense that got the ball out quicker, so Herbert didn’t get hit as much as he did last season. Herbert had the second-most sacks among quarterbacks (74) and was the third-most sacked quarterback in 2025.
McDaniel also pushed Herbert to take more risks on the field during training camp, asking him to play with more anticipation and try to put the ball in tighter windows.
One thing that could help Herbert is the return of fewer premature moves to distort the defense, which has led to more confusion. That included a botched tackle on a crucial third down against the Raiders where the snap hit receiver Tre’ Harris, which caused Herbert to lose his temper. The Chargers have used the move on 79.6% of their plays this season, No. 2 in the league, according to Next Generation Stats. In 2025, under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Chargers used pre-snap moves on 61% of their plays.
Expected to contend for a Super Bowl, the 0-2 Chargers face a stretch of five playoff teams from last year, the 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs and a contending Baltimore Ravens team over their next seven games, a daunting stretch to prepare for while trying to fix a split offense.
However, one senior NFL executive I spoke with believes coach Jim Harbaugh will fix things.
“Usually, less is more,” the executive told me. “Cut the game plan. I wish they’d let Justin get back to his old legs and less of a pistol, but they’re probably too far down that road.
The offensive guards are struggling and the fullback is weak. Plus, they never replaced all of Keenan Allen’s production. But Harbaugh is a problem solver. He’ll be more involved with the attack is my bet.”
Reading the headlines for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason was like watching an episode of Cops.
WARRANT ISSUED FOR BRANDON AIYUK AFTER VIRAL SPEED VIDEO
49ERS HEAD COACH KYLE SHANAHAN INJURED IN CAR CRASH
49 OWNER JED YORK ARRESTED ON PROSTITUTION CHARGES
MAN WHO POSED AS A 49-YEAR-OLD PLAYER ACCUSED OF FRAUD
Through it all, San Francisco ignored the hype and rightly showed up in Australia a week early to throttle the late Los Angeles Rams. The following week, San Francisco handled the Miami Dolphins with ease.
And central to the team’s success has been quarterback Brock Purdy playing at an MVP level. The reason? After three years of battling nagging injuries that began with a torn UCL in his right elbow in the NFC Championship Game in his second NFL season, Purdy appears fully healthy.
Purdy leads the league in completion percentage (80.4%), is third in passer rating (125.6) and is fifth in passing touchdowns (5). And because he’s healthy, Purdy has his mobility back. He has rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown in two games.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot with who I am as a person, as a quarterback, trying to raise my game,” Purdy recently told reporters. “What I knew then, compared to now, is definitely a night-and-day difference. Still understanding, though, the same love for the game that I had from my first start until now has been the same.”
San Francisco tied atop the NFC West should come as no surprise because all of their key players are healthy. Along with Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner all started the first two games and are healthy heading into the team’s Week 3 contest at home against the Arizona Cardinals.
Purdy, McCaffrey and Williams were the only three of those players on the field for last season’s 41-6 NFC playoff loss to the Seahawks.
Against the Dolphins, Purdy had one of his best games as a pro, completing 20 of 22 (90.1%) passing for 287 yards, two touchdowns and just missing a perfect passer rating at 149.1. The game included 18 straight completions as San Francisco scored on its first five drives. Still just 26 years old and in his fifth NFL season, Purdy is just starting to come into his own as a pro.
“It’s unbelievable to watch,” McCaffrey said of Purdy’s latest outing. “How decisive he is. How good he is at shooting on time but also creating when he needs to. When he’s on top, we feel good.”
Few NFL observers expected the Raiders to sit at 2-0 to start the year, while the No. 1 overall Fernando Mendoza was still holding a clipboard.
But the Raiders’ success reminds me of a conversation I had late last year with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold about the team’s new coach, Klint Kubiak, when I asked him to describe his then-stoic offensive coordinator’s personality.
“We’re very similar,” Darnold told me at the time. “No BS is the best way to describe it. We just go about our business. If something needs to be done, we’ll do it. If something needs to be said, we’ll say it. But we love to work and we love football.”
Kubiak’s no-nonsense approach to building a culture is similar to the approach Mike Macdonald took in leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl last season.
“It’s 17, one-game Super Bowls in a row,” Kubiak said. “That’s how our guys have to treat it if we want to be a successful organization.”
So far, Kubiak’s approach has served him well in Las Vegas, according to the team’s best player, defensive end Maxx Crosby.
“He’s tough on us during the week, for sure,” Crosby said after the game. “But that’s because he wants us to play free, to have that confidence, and we have confidence in him. We trust him to put us in situations where we’re going to take advantage. And we trust him and what he’s doing.”
There is no arguing with the results. Second-year pro Ashton Jeanty has come alive, with 210 rushing yards and two touchdowns in two games. Kirk Cousins has done a good job managing the game and creating explosive plays.
Defensively, the Raiders have held teams to 13.5 points per game, No. 5 in the NFL, and have forced five sacks in two games.
The son of former NFL coach Gary Kubiak, the younger Kubiak understands he has more to do.
“This is the NFL,” Kubiak said after his team’s win over the Bolts. “This is the most competitive business in the world. So our players, our coaches all want to win. And that’s our job, is to win.
“We’ve got 15 more games. I’m really proud of today, but the way you win the most is to forget quickly and get back to work for the next game.”
Top 5 on the west side
5. Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas is off to a good start and their best player, Brock Bowers, has yet to play.
4. Los Angeles Rams
Kyren Williams (23 carries, 126 yards) and Blake Corum (22 carries, 133 yards) have split the pace pretty much in two games, providing extra plays beyond Davante Adams in their win over the New York Giants on Monday night.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
Much has been made of Patrick Mahomes’ return and Kenneth Walker III’s hot start, but don’t sleep on the Chiefs’ defense. The defense surprisingly is holding teams to 252.5 total yards per game, ranking third in the NFL.
2. San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have had as good a start to the season as they could have asked for. However, there are some questions about their depth at receiver. They addressed that on Tuesday, with former Rams WR Brandin Cooks returning to the NFC West by joining San Francisco’s practice squad.
1. Seattle Seahawks
Starting quarterback Sam Darnold (glute) is scheduled to return to practice this week, but the Seahawks could take their time getting him back with Drew Lock leading the league in passer rating (127.3).
“Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn. And sometimes you have a dumb-ass coach who makes travel plans that put you in a bad spot.”
Rams coach Sean McVay on his team’s failed travel plans to Australia.
