It might sound weird to say, but it's not truly an exaggeration to claim that the Los Angeles Chargers' season will be on the line in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills.
Only two teams have made the playoffs after starting the season with an 0-3 record in the 21st century—the 2018 and 2025 Houston Texans. With the slate they have ahead of them, it's hard to imagine Los Angeles digging themselves out of that kind of hole.
Their offense has been in shambles to this point under Mike McDaniel. They've failed to get any momentum going through the air, and the ground game, while solid, hasn't been consistent enough to keep the unit as a whole afloat. The defense hasn't been any better.
They're about to face possibly the hottest team in the NFL in Week 3. The Bills, with Josh Allen at the helm, have totaled 77 points across two matchups, and their defense looks much improved under Jim Leonhard. They're down LG1, LG2, TE1, TE2, and their run-stopping nose tackle, and they're at a major rest disadvantage with the Bills having played on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.
The odds, in short, are stacked against Justin Herbert. No matter how many excuses you can pad him with to this point in the season, will he be able to answer the call with the Chargers' season on the line?
These two losses aren't entirely Justin Herbert's fault, but he needs to be the one to answer for them in Week 3
It seems as though the conversation surrounding Herbert always exists surrounding two distinct polarities. Either Herbert is an elite quarterback and the Chargers haven't done enough to help him, or he's a middle-of-the-road QB who isn't capable of consistently performing at a high enough level.
The reality, at least this season, is somewhere in the middle. The details of the offense have been messy around Herbert, and he hasn't had nearly the level of protection he was projected to with the Chargers' additions this offseason. Even Jim Harbaugh pointed out that his pair of interceptions in the matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders weren't his fault.
Harbaugh said he felt like the team is letting Justin Herbert down and pointed to both interceptions. First was dropped by Njoku, second he said WR Derius Davis was supposed to be wider on his route
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) September 21, 2026
“Two interceptions that were really exactly what he was supposed to do ... But…
But it's also clear that McDaniel's scheme has required a longer adjustment period from Herbert than many anticipated. He's still slow to get the ball out at times, and his ability to read defenses and capitalize upon his arm talent has been limited through Los Angeles' first two games of the season. Across two games, he's totaled just 401 passing yards and two touchdowns to three interceptions.
That's understandable, and it shouldn't be disastrous in a vacuum.
Great quarterbacks, though, are able to prevail when the odds are stacked against them. They're able to extend plays and keep the ball safe while driving their team down the field. Even if Ladd McConkey is limited, even if the protection isn't quite where Los Angeles wants it to be at this point in the season, Herbert is the franchise quarterback. He's the one who's set to earn $46 million this season.
If Los Angeles has any shot at keeping up with Allen and the Bills offense, it's going to take a miraculous game from Herbert. We know he's capable of that, even when he's being chased down by opposing pass rushes and when he's missing key pieces of his offense.
But that's not the version of Herbert we've seen so far this season. With the Chargers' playoff hopes already on the line in Week 3, Herbert needs to show why he's viewed as this team's true star. Excuses aside, it's time for Herbert to show up—and it's time for McDaniel and the rest of the coaching staff to capitalize on the talent they still have available on the offensive side of the ball.
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