The Los Angeles Chargers now have their schedule for the 2026 offseason set in stone.
There's certainly ample room for intrigue, even with their relative lack of primetime appearances. We'll see matchups against both reigning conference champions in the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. They'll get their first shot at Jesse Minter and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 10, and Mike McDaniel will get his shot at the Miami Dolphins in Week 16.
The seven matchups surrounding the bye week will represent a gauntlet of sorts, but if Los Angeles can come out of that stretch intact, we should be in for a very promising season.
Here are my predictions for every game on the Chargers' 2026 slate.
As a (honestly unneeded) disclaimer, it's almost certain that a significant number of these will be flat-out wrong. Nevertheless, it's a fun exercise to undertake, even if it's only so I can see just how wrong I am by season's end.
Predicting every game on the Chargers' schedule in 2026
Week 1: vs. Arizona Cardinals — W (31-12) — 1-0
The Cardinals have improved along the offensive line this offseason, and there's a chance they take some strides in 2026 compared to last season's failures. But this will be the premier of the Chargers' offense under Mike McDaniel, and I expect them to come out hot on both sides of the ball, taking an easy win against Arizona in their first matchup of the season.
Bold Prediction: Quentin Johnston goes for 90+ receiving yards in his first major performance of the season.
Week 2: vs. Las Vegas Raiders — W (21-9) — 2-0
The Raiders should also take strides this season. They've made some major additions on defense, and there's a chance this offense starts to come together once Fernando Mendoza takes over. At this point in the season, though, it should be another easy win for the Chargers as they start off the season 2-0 at home.
There could still be some growing pains for Mike McDaniel and the Chargers offense, but the defense should dominate in this one.
Bold Prediction: Kirk Cousins starts for the Raiders and throws 2 INT and 0 TD.
Week 3: @ Buffalo Bills — W (24-14) — 3-0
This will be Los Angeles' first truly difficult matchup of the season, but it won't be Buffalo's first real test under new head coach Joe Brady. They'll head into the matchup having faced the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions, and the Chargers defense could represent the end of a major stumbling block for Buffalo's struggling offense.
This one could be close, but look for Los Angeles to earn their first major win of the season here as the Bills fight to string together effective drives.
Bold Prediction: Omarion Hampton has his break-out game, going for 80+ rushing yards against a sub-par Bills run defense.
Week 4: @ Seattle Seahawks — L (14-26) — 3-1
Here it comes. The Chargers have to be handed their first loss at some point, and what better spot is there than the start of their most brutal slate of the season?
The Seahawks offense has lost some of its teeth with the departure of Kenneth Walker III. Zach Charbonnet's availability for the start of the season is also in question. But their defense is still more than intact, and Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will prove to be too much for the Chargers to handle.
Bold Prediction: The Chargers' new offensive line falls short in its first real test of the season, with Justin Herbert getting sacked three times in the loss.
Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos — W (34-21) — 4-1
The Broncos should be just as formidable in 2026, especially if Bo Nix is back to full health at the start of the season. But this Chargers team is a different beast offensively than they were last year. Just like last season, Los Angeles takes their first matchup against Denver with an excellent performance from Justin Herbert. They improve to 4-1 and 2-0 in their division.
Bold Prediction: Cameron Dicker kicks a 60+ yarder towards the end of the first half.
Week 6: @ Kansas City Chiefs — L (21-27) — 4-2
People are going to be mad at me for this one, but here goes nothing. The Chargers are well-poised to win the AFC West this season, but the Chiefs are also poised for a major bounce-back from their offensive struggles in 2025. Los Angeles will be facing Kansas City coming off their bye week, and the date of this game will give Patrick Mahomes plenty of time to get his feet under him again. If Kansas City's offense is rolling, this will be one of their most difficult (and most pivotal) matchups of the season.
This will be close, and it will likely come down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. But don't be surprised if the Chargers fall short here ahead of their bye.
Bold Prediction: Donte Jackson gets a pick-six for one of the Chargers' three touchdowns.
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: @ Los Angeles Rams — L (17-28) — 4-3
Things will get brighter soon here, folks. But this matchup against Los Angeles, even coming off a bye week, will be extremely difficult. The Rams posted the best overall offense in the NFL last season, posting a total of 518 points and 4,557 passing yards across all 17 games. Matthew Stafford is back for another year, and although he likely won't be playing at an MVP level again, the Rams will be good enough to prevail over the Chargers in what will be a strange quasi-home matchup for both teams.
Bold Prediction: Brenen Thompson gets the first TD of his NFL career on a deep shot from Herbert.
Week 9: vs. Houston Texans — W (27-12) — 5-3
Last season, this would've been seen as a virtually unwinnable matchup given the state of the offensive line. But things are different this year, and this game will serve as an opportunity for McDaniel and the Chargers offense to rebound from back-to-back losses at the hands of the Chiefs and the Rams.
Who knows if what we saw from C.J. Stroud in last season's playoff run is who he truly is as a player, but there's not a ton of reason to have high hopes for Houston's offense this season. If the Chargers can come away with a win here, it will be a massive step in the right direction no matter how the rest of this brutal post-bye stretch goes.
Bold Prediction: Akheem Mesidor posts two sacks in his break-out game as a defensive contributor for the Chargers.
Week 10: @ Baltimore Ravens (MNF) — W (31-17) — 6-3
For multiple reasons, this could easily be the Chargers' biggest matchup of the season. There's the obvious Jesse Minter storyline, with him departing as Chargers defensive coordinator to take be John Harbaugh's successor in Baltimore. But even beyond that, it's pivotal the Chargers exit Week 10 with at least six wins if they want to have a chance at surpassing the 11-win threshold they reached last season.
The Ravens' defense should be clicking at this point, but there are still a number of questions surrounding their offense. Los Angeles should be able to take advantage and enter the back half of the season in solid shape.
Bold Prediction: Ladd McConkey goes for two touchdowns and burns the Ravens secondary for multiple major YAC receptions.
Week 11: vs. New York Jets — W (45-13) — 7-3
This one doesn't need much context. The Jets are projected to start Geno Smith at quarterback this year, and they're in the middle of another roster reset as they attempt to find any semblance of footing in the AFC East. This is where the Chargers have a real chance to start stringing together some wins, and New York should be an easy matchup
Bold Prediction: Breece Hall gets shut down by the Chargers defense, rushing for 40 yards or less over the course of the game.
Week 12: vs. New England Patriots (SNF) — L (15-18) — 7-4
In their Wild Card Round matchup last season, the Chargers quite infamously only posted three points in what was a highly disappointing showing. It would feel great to say they exorcise their demons here and blow the Patriots out of the water (which is quite possible), but there can only be so many serendipitous storylines in one season.
This turns into a defensive battle, and McDaniel's offense has its worst outing of the season against the Patriots defense.
Bold Prediction: Jim Harbaugh's post-game presser includes at least four usages of some variation of "grit" or "toughness".
Week 13: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers — W (34-14) — 8-4
This is the first of two trips to the East Coast the Chargers will need to face late in the season, but neither should present a major challenge. Baker Mayfield is in a contract year, so there's a chance we see some of the most fierce play out of him we've seen in his career as he tries to prove his worth as a starter.
But this Tampa Bay team still has a number of questions on both sides of the ball, and the Chargers' get a major bounce-back win to improve to 8-4.
Bold Prediction: Tre' Harris has his biggest game of the season, posting at least four receptions for 70 yards.
Week 14: at Las Vegas Raiders — W (31-17) — 9-4
This doesn't need much context either. Mendoza starts for the Raiders here after they decide they're done with the Kirk Cousins experience, but it's not enough to stop the Chargers as they gain momentum down the stretch.
Bold Prediction: Fernando Mendoza starts for the Raiders and throws for 2 TD and 1 INT.
Week 15: vs. San Francisco 49ers — W (28-21) — 10-4
This will also be an intriguing matchup. The Chargers haven't played San Francisco in the regular season since 2022, and the 49ers will be looking to have a much healthier season than they did in 2025. If the roster remains intact, San Francisco should be viewed as a Super Bowl contender this season.
But McDaniel returns back to where it truly all began and delivers a masterclass against a young San Francisco defense, bringing the Chargers to 10-4 on the season.
Bold Prediction: Mike McDaniel takes off his shirt in the locker room after the win.
Week 16: @ Miami Dolphins — W (35-7) — 11-4
This will be McDaniel's shot at revenge, but you won't see the emotion from him until after the Chargers blow out the Dolphins, who should be one of the league's worst teams by this point in the season, on the road. I thought about inflating Los Angeles' score into the 40s, but I decided to be conservative here.
Bold Prediction: Justin Herbert throws for 400+ yards and completes at least 35 passes against a depleted Miami defense.
Week 17: vs. Kansas City Chiefs — W (21-18) — 12-4
I said some nice things about the Chiefs earlier, but the reality is this. There's no shot that the Chargers, if they're playing to their fullest potential, drop both games to Kansas City this season. With a revamped secondary, this Chiefs defense has a ceiling, and the Chargers surpass it here to advance to 12-4 and take firm control of second place in the AFC West.
Bold Prediction: Tony Jefferson gets ejected again and cements himself as the Chiefs' greatest villain of the past two seasons.
Week 18: @ Denver Broncos— L (7-28) — 12-5
The Broncos have some significantly easier stretches than the Chargers do this season. Although there's room for regression there, the more difficult aspects of Los Angeles' schedule hold them to 12 wins, while the Broncos find their way to securing the AFC West title before this Week 18 matchup
Like last season, the Chargers rest their starters of anticipation of a Wild Card Round matchup, and this game, at the end of the day, is relatively meaningless.
Bold Prediction: A loss in this game results in the Chargers facing off against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs.
Final Record: 12-5, 2nd in AFC West
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