The Chargers took another brutal double-digit loss this week. It was similarly ugly to their first contest against Arizona. Coaching, penalties, lack of focus, very limited execution on offense, poor secondary play-you name it. Most of the things that went wrong in Week 1 were just as bad (if not worse) in Week 2.
One man at the center of it is QB Justin Herbert. He's obviously gotten his fair share of criticism for what was an underwhelming performance. But the CEO head coach in Jim Harbaugh didn't (or well, shouldn't) escape postgame criticism either. And one key Charger inadvertently revealed that Harbaugh's schtick may be wearing thin already.
Chargers EDGE Khalil Mack adds fuel to the currently burning Jim Harbaugh fire.
Chargers EDGE Khalil Mack was asked after the game about what Jim Harbaugh's message to the team was. Here's his full quote via ESPN's Kris Rhim:
"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."
Mack followed up his statement by saying that the team was "pissed", but close to turning it around. It sure didn't look that way on Sunday afternoon.
But Mack essentially admitted what had been a concern over the last few weeks. How much is the Chargers' locker room still listening to Harbaugh? "Blanking out" when the head coach speaks does not sound ideal. And I'd venture to guess that Mack is far from the only Charger tuning Harbaugh out after a string of back-to-back losses.
Even if Mack didn't necessarily intend his comment to come off as an indictment on Harbaugh, it still spoke volumes to the levels of apathy in the locker room. It's year three of Harbaugh and the players don't feel more passionate or hungry than they did before. QB Justin Herbert admitted the team didn't feel "anger" after a second straight loss. Losses don't feel good in the NFL, but a coach losing the locker room is a different level of seriousness.
Harbaugh's words didn't connect with the fanbase at all last night when he said he felt the "fight and compete" of the team yesterday.
Jim Harbaugh: “I saw the fight in our team. I saw the compete in our team.”
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) September 20, 2026
“The competitors, the fight-when your backs against the wall, you have to fight your way out.”
Says he’s “not deterred” by offensive start.
The Raiders are celebrating in the locker room as he speaks. pic.twitter.com/4UHiJxCJfI
The Chargers suffered a rash of injuries yesterday and face a largely healthy Buffalo team coming off of 10 days rest next week. We'll find out just how much Harbaugh still has a handle on this team (or not) very soon.
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