The Los Angeles Chargers are officially approaching 'first win' territory.
Now, it's depressing that we're even having this conversation at this point in the season. Through seven weeks, the Chargers have shown little to nothing on the offensive side of the ball. Even with two weeks to prepare for the matchup with the Los Angeles Rams and increased health across the roster, the on-field product saw only marginal improvement, if you can even argue for that.
Before the Week 8 matchup, I predicted that, while the Chargers would show some improvement against the Rams, a rebounding offense would ultimately make it too difficult to come away with a win. But I also predicted that momentum could carry them into a Week 9 win against the Houston Texans and, if not a win Week 9, a victory in Week 11 against the New York Jets.
The complexion of that slate, as easy as it is compared to what Los Angeles faced over the past few weeks, has changed remarkably since that prediction, though. First and foremost, the Chargers gained absolutely no momentum in that Rams matchup—they totaled just 295 total yards and remain without a touchdown since Week 5. The Ravens, meanwhile, have lost both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley for what seems to be the season, and they've now made a move to bring Jacoby Brissett in as their starting quarterback. The Jets won't present a necessarily easy matchup, either.
But the focus, for now, remains on the Texans, and although their defense has been sub-par to this point in the season, it's hard to imagine this version of the Los Angeles offense coming away with a victory in Week 9.
Chargers' complete lack of offensive momentum makes their gaining their first victory an almost impossible challenge
I don't need to re-hash the Chargers' woeful offensive numbers here—you've likely seen them plastered everywhere on social media already. But it's worth taking a look at what the Texans have put on the field so far this season.
After a pair of seasons where an elite defense, complemented by a sub-par offense, ultimately limited Houston's chances at Super Bowl contention, we've seen somewhat of a reversal in 2026. CJ Stroud is playing consistent (and turnover-free) football, having amassed 1,867 yards and 11 passing touchdowns to just one interception through seven games. The Texans' passing offense as a whole is 12th in the NFL—an improvement from the marks of 21st and 14th they put up in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The run game has been woeful, as was generally expected, and that's limited the ceiling of the offense as a whole.
But the real surprise has been the defense's dip in performance, and that's the primary reason Houston is currently 2-5. Not much has changed personnel-wise outside of the addition of Reed Blankenship, but Houston is currently 18th in the NFL in passing yards allowed (they were sixth last year) and eighth in rushing yards (fourth last year).
Their pass rush, though, remains largely the same—operating with middle-of-the-pack pressure rate and relatively high sack levels. That's where the primary concern for the Chargers lies.
Even if Kayode Awosika is back at full strength in Week 9, the Chargers will still have the right side of their offensive line made up by Cole Strange and fourth-round selection Travis Burke. Houston has enough juice with Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, and Jadaveon Clowney in the fold to exploit that pair of matchups all they want. The presence of Sheldon Rankins and Kayden McDonald on the interior certainly won't help either.
Moreover, where the Texans defense has primarily struggled has been in grabbing turnovers and preventing explosive plays. The turnovers part may work in the Chargers' favor, sure, but this isn't an offense that's going out there itching for explosives. Los Angeles is currently 32nd in the NFL in explosive play rate through seven games. They simply need to get something going on that side of the ball, and it's hard to think this Houston defense isn't good enough to make that a highly difficult task.
Granted, when their first win does come, it's likely going to come on the shoulders of a major defensive performance by Chris O'Leary's unit, so perhaps Los Angeles can drag Houston down into the muck and come away with some sort of narrow victory. But if they can't show any improvement on the offensive side of the ball, that still feels like a far-off reality.
And it's not as though things project to get significantly easier against the Ravens and Jets.
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