The Kansas City Chiefs didn't play on the first Sunday of the 2026 NFL season, as they'll suit up for a divisional showdown against the Broncos on Monday night. The other two AFC West teams played, though, with the Raiders winning and the Chargers losing to a team many expected them to handle with ease.
The Chargers, who were a popular pick to win the division (and even the Super Bowl), entered their game against the Cardinals as massive favorites. Immediately, it became evident that the Cardinals were either better than people expected or the Chargers were worse than we all thought, or maybe both.
By the time the clock hit all zeroes, the Chargers had fallen 26-14 on their home turf to a team many thought would be in the running to land the top pick in next year's draft. Oh, it was also Mike LaFleur's first game as the head coach of the Cardinals but that didn't matter. Arizona still took down Jim Harbaugh's Chargers on the road despite being huge underdogs.
Chargers suffered a brutal Week 1 loss that Chiefs fans will love
A reason so many people thought that the Chargers could take the next step this year is that they hired Mike McDaniel to be their offensive coordinator. While McDaniel turned out not to be the answer as the Dolphins' head coach, many figured his offensive mindset paired with Justin Herbert would make Los Angeles' offense a force to be reckoned with.
And hey, maybe it still will be. But the Cardinals sniffed out everything the Chargers tried to throw at them offensively. Herbert's Bolts scored just 14 points and he threw for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception while getting sacked three times. The offensive line was supposed to be a strength for the Chargers after getting their tackles back but that wasn't the case on Sunday.
At one point, when the Chargers were down 23-14, the L.A. offense took the field and proceeded to put on a less-than-stellar series. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic posted on X that the aforementioned series consisted of three straight penalties, a pass breakup by the Cardinals, the Chargers having to burn a timeout to avoid another penalty, a pass for 12 yards on 3rd-and-30, a short pass on 4th-and-18, a penalty, and then a turnover on downs. Yikes, yikes, and more yikes.
Defensively, the Chargers sure missed Jesse Minter, who took the Ravens head coaching job over the offseason. Los Angeles' D surrendered 26 points and allowed Jacoby Brissett to throw for 277 yards and a touchdown with no picks. It was not a good day at the office for most of Jim Harbaugh's staff.
With all of this said, while it was fun watching the Chargers lose to an inferior opponent, it's only one game. Chiefs fans know all too well how much of a fight a lesser team can put up, especially when they have nothing to lose. It's one game out of 17 regular season matchups and the Chargers will surely bounce back.
For now though, it sure is funny to laugh at.
Add us as a preferred source on Google