Needless to say, the Los Angeles Chargers will be hoping for some much better results on the offensive side of the ball as they return from the bye in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams.
It's not necessarily the unwinnable matchup it seemed to be when the schedule came out over the summer. The Rams have had their fair share of struggles, and their recent injury woes certainly open a door for the Chargers to at least make this game competitive. If their offense can put up even a middling performance and their defense can rebound from the step back it took in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs, there's some reason to have hope for this team.
That being said, I'm not going to come close to projecting a win this week. But simply some improvement would be encouraging, and the Chargers need to show they made meaningful internal changes during their week off—especially since Mike McDaniel seems slated to keep his job over the remainder of the season.
Here are three storylines I'm monitoring as the Chargers begin to undertake that task.
1. What adjustments (if any) does Mike McDaniel look to make to his scheme?
It's not often that you can apply press-availability quotes to actual on-field performance. When asked about what might look different after the bye, McDaniel's answer seemed to be somewhat telling:
OC Mike McDaniel on Harbaugh saying they can “simplify”: “I have to be consistent in how I call things and where I align people to expect elite execution.”
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) October 29, 2026
“You want it to be at the level of simple where guys can play fast…but you don’t want to take away competitive advantages”
Amidst calls to "simplify" the offense in order to help the Chargers gain some momentum on that side of the ball, McDaniel seems to be holding fast to his process. It's on the personnel, then, to continue to acclimate to the demands of his scheme and erase the mistakes and miscues we've seen to this point in the season.
That doesn't mean there won't be adjustments, though. The returns of Ladd McConkey and Tre' Harris give McDaniel the opportunity to work in more underneath routes, and the distribution of touches in the backfield, as well as the overall approach to the run game, are both things that need to be hammered out in this first post-bye matchup.
It's not as easy as simply making the play calls and assignments simpler, at least not while McDaniel is still intact as offensive coordinator. But watching how he attacks and approaches the Rams defense on a down-to-down basis will some answer some major questions about what McDaniel wants to do over the remainder of the season.
2. Can Chris O'Leary capitalize on the blitz against this Rams offense?
The Chargers defense has been impressive under O'Leary so far, especially considering the injuries and lack of depth he's had to deal with in the secondary. But the performance against Kansas City was a step back, no matter how you want to look at it. The Chargers allowed 422 total yards in that game, 150 of which came on the ground.
Of course, a better performance against the run will be necessary this week. But any chance the Chargers have of coming away with a win will rely on their ability to disrupt the Rams' offensive process—and that can come with a few well-timed blitzes by O'Leary.
The Chargers aren't blitzing much this season—they're doing so at about the same rate they did under Jesse Minter—but they've been highly effective when they've sent extra rushers, posting a 52.5% pressure rate on those plays, which is good for second in the NFL in that category. Stafford, meanwhile, has struggled when pressured this season, having thrown six interceptions on 13 turnover-worthy plays across 171 pressured dropbacks.
Los Angeles isn't going to win the game with its pressure, but it could help leave the door open long enough for the offense to find its footing in the second half.
3. Can Quentin Johnston come out of the bye week with some momentum?
Needless to say, the Chargers haven't seen the results they wanted out of Johnston this season—especially after picking up his fifth-year option this past offseason and guaranteeing him at a $16.5 million value for 2027. But there was a sign of life there in Week 6 when Johnston came down with an incredible deep catch against Kansas City, narrowly missing the touchdown but gaining 57 yards on a singular play.
To this point in the season, though, Johnston has still amassed just eight receptions for 165 yards and zero touchdowns. He hasn't been the deep threat that Los Angeles thought would unlock its passing game, and he's struggled both to gain separation and hang onto his targets when they've come. Those are familiar problems with Johnston, but now that we've almost arrived at a pivotal trade deadline for the Chargers, they're simply back in the spotlight again.
Even if Los Angeles can't (or doesn't want to) move Johnston at the deadline, the health of this offense depends on his ability to consistently perform, at the very least, as a deep threat. If he can put up a couple of receptions in this Rams matchup, it will go a long way toward re-instituting some level of confidence in the fourth-year receiver.
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