Justin Herbert, as usual, is going to be a polarizing topic now that the Los Angeles Chargers have officially started their season 0-3.
What happened? Where has all the optimism that surrounded this squad, especially on the offensive side of the ball, gone? Who's truly at fault for the way Los Angeles' playoff hopes have rapidly faded into the background over the first three weeks of the season?
In truth, the answer is every player on the roster as well as the coaching staff. Although we've seen flashes, primarily along the defensive line, of high-level play, no aspect of this team's performance has been good enough to meet the expectations that were set for the Chargers this offseason. Herbert, especially hasn't operated at a high enough level.
He's struggled to acclimate to the demands of Mike McDaniel's scheme, and he's made mistakes with the ball in his hands that, frankly, should be uncharacteristic of him at this point in his career.
But he's not the one that needs to answer for the way this season has started, nor does the blame for the 0-3 start fall upon him. That responsibility belongs to Jim Harbaugh—the team's head coach and veteran leader.
Jim Harbaugh needs to provide real answers for where things have gone wrong for the Chargers so far
Almost no one in the NFL, neither a player nor coach, is truly willing to speak their mind at the podium—especially after a loss like the one we just saw. Answers like this from Herbert, naturally, have come to be expected.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert on why offense isn’t executing properly: “That’s a great question…whatever the reason is, we have to find a way to fix it.”
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) September 27, 2026
It's vague enough to show some level of accountability, but it refuses to dig any further beneath surface level than is necessary to answer the question. There may be a temptation to frustration here based on how Herbert has performed so far. He certainly hasn't elevated this team in the way that we're used to.
But to hear these same sort of answers from Harbaugh on a week-to-week basis—especially vague nods to "work ethic" and collective improvement—simply isn't acceptable from this team's true leader. As a non-play calling head coach, Harbaugh's primary responsibility is to make sure that the scheme on both sides of the ball is implemented and executed correctly. He's responsible for making sure that each player knows their role inside and out, and he's responsible for galvanizing this roster after a disastrous 0-2 start.
The Chargers we saw today looked fired up and intense, sure, but the execution simply wasn't there. Multiple mistakes on Los Angeles' most important red zone drive of the day took away easy points from the offense, and various drops and miscues again plagued the offense over the course of this matchup. Los Angeles hasn't truly come close to a playoff win in the Harbaugh era, and now simply making the playoffs feels like a faraway goal in a 2026 season that was meant to be a complete reset.
Who knows if we'll ever get a true answer about what's gone wrong with this team so far. It's not how coaches approach the post-game podium.
But if anyone truly needs to answer for how Los Angeles' season has gone so far, it's Harbaugh.
Add us as a preferred source on Google