We are two weeks into the 2026 NFL season and it already feels like the Chargers' year is over. Los Angeles is 0-2 after drawing the easiest start imaginable, and now has to play eight Super Bowl contenders in a row.
The Chargers need to wake up if they want any chance at contending in 2026. If the same team continues to show up from the first two weeks, then the Bolts may win four or fewer games this season.
It's as bad as it could be after only two games. Here is your mid-week Bolt Beat Bulletin ahead of a season-defining game in Week 3.
- The two-minute warning
- Week 2 Chargers superlatives
- Must-read Chargers quotes
- Chargers stories from around the web
- This day in Chargers history
The two-minute warning
Your quick-hitting mid-week briefing on relevant Chargers news, injuries, and more.
Chargers sign TE Hayden Rucci with David Njoku and Charlie Kolar heading to IR
The Chargers lost two of their three rostered tight ends on Sunday and needed to make a move with Oronde Gadsden all alone in the room. Los Angeles opted to poach Hayden Rucci off the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad to fill the gap. Rucci played four games for Mike McDaniel's Miami Dolphins last season but has not caught an NFL pass.
To make room on the 53-man roster, the Chargers waived wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. Jennings was signed last week and was inactive on Sunday.
Kayode Awosika and Dalvin Tomlinson avoid IR, but will miss time
Starting left guard Kayode Awosika and starting nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson were also injured in Week 2. Awosika and Tomlinson avoided a trip to the IR but will miss time. IR stints require four missed games, so it's safe to assume that Awosika and Tomlinson will miss three or fewer. That or the Chargers butchered the situation.
Trey Pipkins is the next man up at left guard with Awosika injured. Pipkins is also nursing an injury, however, in which case Trevor Penning is the next man up.
DJ Moore and Ed Oliver are "day-to-day", could play vs. Chargers
Buffalo lost both DJ Moore and Ed Oliver on Thursday against the Lions and the extra time may bode well for them against the Chargers. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that both players are considered day-to-day and should practice this week before playing the Chargers in Week 3.
Week 2 Chargers superlatives
Award | Winner |
|---|---|
MVP of the Week | Tarheeb Still |
Unsung Hero of the Week | Akheem Mesidor |
Dud of the Week | Joe Alt |
Best PFF Grade | Donte Jackson (91.8) |
Worst PFF Grade | Genesis Smith (27.9) |
Tarheeb Still finished with the third-best PFF defense grade in Week 2 and isn't getting any attention despite how he has played. Still played the third-most snaps of any player on defense in Week 2 and locked down his assignment as he wasn't targeted a single time in Sunday's game.
In fact, Still ranks similarly to some big names (Sauce Gardner being one of them) when charting defensive backs' target rate and catch rate over expected through two weeks.
Akheem Mesidor had a solid showing in his second career NFL game with four charted pressures by PFF and half a sack officially on the ledger. It wasn't an eye-popping game, but as a rotational edge-rushing rookie getting his feet wet, Chargers fans should take it.
Joe Alt may not have been the worst player on the field on Sunday but he was the biggest disappointment. Alt had arguably the worst game of his three-year career against the Raiders as he struggled in pass pro and racked up multiple penalties. One of which led to a safety.
Donte Jackson turned in the best PFF grade, although that is helped by him being targeted more than Still. Genesis Smith turned in the worst PFF grade, which checks out given the blown coverages that happened in the second level on Sunday.
Must-read Chargers quotes
Khalil Mack on Jim Harbaugh's message after losing to the Raiders:
"Honestly, I blanked out the whole time. I don't really know. My mind was on the game still, but I feel like it had something to do with picking up the pieces and getting this thing right."
There's a good chance you've already seen this quote making the rounds because it is legitimately concerning. Khalil Mack is a leader in the locker room and he just outwardly admitted that he was tuning out the head coach while he was delivering a message to the team after a tough loss.
This is the first sign of Harbaugh potentially losing the locker room that we have seen during his Chargers tenure. Time will tell whether this is just a bump in the road or the start of something more serious for the Bolts.
Jim Harbaugh on how the Chargers are playing compared to how they are practicing:
"I do. And I see improvement and I think I said it last night after the game, just the competitive endurance, the overcoming adversity, some warriors out there and we continue to build."
Harbaugh stating that he sees improvement after a critical loss to a divisional opponent is not exactly what Chargers fans want to hear. When prompted to follow up on the improvements he is seeing, Harbaugh kept it vague and said, "in areas of football". Reporters followed up again, to which all Harbaugh had to point out was the team's sense of urgency.
Harbaugh talking in circles is a lot easier to swallow when the Chargers are winning games. It's not so fun now.
Derwin James after the Chargers start 0-2:
“We got to look each other in the eye, man, and just tell the truth and just get better. Because right now that shit just looks trash [...] I'm angry, but being angry don't fix anything."
Yeah, Derwin, we are pretty angry too. We can only hope that the Chargers actually practice what they preach when it comes to telling the truth and getting better. With how things are going, this feels like a subtle shot at those leading the team. But time will tell.
Chargers stories from around the web
Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times broke down the Chargers' worrisome Week 2 loss to the Raiders and perfectly captured the temperature of the locker room in the process. It might be hard to go back and read this, but it's a great story for those who want an idea on how the locker room is feeling after an 0-2 start.
Gavino Borquez of Chargers Wire shares his thoughts and takeaways from the Bolts' Week 2 loss. Most of the thoughts are negatively slanted, which is easy to do when the Bolts start the season 0-2 against two bad teams. But there are some great insights in Borquez's analysis that is worth reading if you're looking for any reason to be optimistic.
- Who were the Racine Tornadoes, the 1920s NFL franchise brought to light by Chargers’ misery? (The Athletic)
In case you didn't hear it by now, the Chargers were the first team in 100 years to start a season with back-to-back double-digit losses at home against two teams that had a sub-.200 winning percentage the year prior. The other team was the 1926 Racine Tornadoes. Saad Yousuf took this unfortunate trivia fact one step further with a painfully-fun-to-read historical deep dive on the Tornadoes.
It shouldn't be surprising to anyone reading this that there is a certain former Chargers quarterback who tops this fun list from Nick Villano. That specific Hall of Fame quarterback isn't the only former Charger on the list, though, and it's a fun story to read regardless.
This day in Chargers history
September 23, 2001: Chargers defeat Cowboys in the only LaDainian Tomlinson-Emmitt Smith showdown
LaDainian Tomlinson and Emmitt Smith are two of the five greatest running backs of all time who were both the greatest of their generation. Tomlinson dominated the 2000s and the rise of fantasy football while Smith carried the Dallas Cowboys to their most relevant period in the 1990s.
It's easy to forget that the end of Smith's NFL career actually intersected with the beginning of Tomlinson's. On September 23, 2001, the two running backs played their only game against each other at Texas Stadium.
The Chargers defeated the Cowboys 32-21 in a game where the Bolts' offense tallied 475 total yards. Doug Flutie threw for 348 yards, which was the third-most yards of his career. Drew Brees watched as the rookie backup. Tomlinson carried the ball 27 times for 90 yards and added a pair of receptions. Smith carried the ball 17 times for 85 yards.
Smith was impressed with Tomlinson, who grew up idoling Smith as a Cowboys fan in the '90s. The NFL's all-time leading rusher had this to say about LT following the game:
"I watched him today and I saw him catch this screen pass at the start of the second quarter. He jetted out so quick, I said, 'He's got some wheels!'"
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