The Chargers had two weeks to prepare for the Rams offensively. And while there were moments of offensive competence in the first half, the game swung away from the Chargers once again as it went on. After nine points in the first half, Los Angeles got shut out in the second. Justin Herbert threw two interceptions and had a fumble.
At one point in the first half, the Chargers had outgained the Rams in yards by 135-24. In the rest of the game, the Rams outgained the Chargers by nearly 100 yards. Several questionable play calls by Mike McDaniel left points on the board. The game effectively ended with a quick slant well short of the sticks to TE Oronde Gadsden II. The run game was a disaster and Herbert looked as he did before the bye in terms of turnovers.
Of course, the question that will now come every press conference: will OC Mike McDaniel continue to call plays?
It did not look like a group that did much of any introspection or soul-searching over the BYE week. The four hour film session during the bye between OC Mike McDaniel and Herbert did not help. It begs the question—why continue any of this? Why should McDaniel continue to call plays for the worst offense in the league? Why enable a system that continues to make Herbert look worse each week? Why have the other players in the offense continue to lose confidence?
The Chargers were 32nd in offensive EPA entering the day. Herbert had reached the BYE week with more turnovers than touchdowns for the first time in his career. The were 32nd in dropback EPA and 30th in rush EPA prior to this game. And nothing really looked different after the BYE week.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh delivered a defense of McDaniel. He announced postgame that McDaniel will remain the teams’ OC after he was asked by The Athletic’s Noah Furtado.
Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh on if OC Mike McDaniel will continue to call plays: "Yes."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) November 2, 2026
on why he is keeping McDaniel: "Our motivation is dedication to getting it changed, fixed."
"I believe in our guys, our players, our coaches"
The point in favor of keeping McDaniel is continuity. You don't want to replace another OC if you don't have to. Ultimately, Harbaugh might need McDaniel to work in order to possibly save his job. But again—what is changing in a positive direction? Herbert continues to take steps backwards. The run game has had the wheels completely fall off. None of the three running backs even averaged 3.0 yards per carry today.
Everything seems harder and the players are playing with less and less confidence. At some point, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. One has to wonder if the damage done by McDaniel at this point is worth the fading supposed benefit of him turning it around.
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