Chargers fall to 0-2 as Herbert struggles against Raiders
The Los Angeles Chargers are 0-2, and the questions around Justin Herbert are getting louder.
Los Angeles fell 26-14 to the Las Vegas Raiders in a game that put its star quarterback back under the microscope, according to The Guardian analysis published 21 September 2026.
Herbert completed 15 of 27 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions. An interception is a pass caught by the defense. He was also sacked three times, meaning tackled behind the line before he could throw.
The rest of the offense stalled with him. The Chargers had 13 possessions, which are the separate turns they had with the ball. Two of them ended in long touchdown drives. None of the other 11 gained more than 30 yards.
The other sideline told a different story. Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins, described as 10 years older than the 28-year-old Herbert, threw one interception and took two sacks. He averaged 8.7 yards per attempt to Herbert's 7.1. That number is simply the average gain every time a quarterback throws.
Herbert is 6ft 6in with a big arm and long has been called one of the most promising quarterbacks in the NFL. The debate, as framed in that 21 September analysis, is whether he has underachieved or his team has let him down.
The playoff record hangs over that debate. Herbert was 0-3 in the postseason at the time of the analysis. The Chargers ended last season with a loss to the New England Patriots in the wild-card round, the win-or-go-home opening weekend of the playoffs.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh had yet to win a playoff game with the Chargers. This season brings another change, with Mike McDaniel as the new offensive coordinator, the assistant in charge of calling plays and shaping the passing game.
What makes this stand out is how familiar it feels. Two long drives show what the Chargers can be. Eleven short ones show why they are 0-2.
For fans, this means the margin is already thin. An 0-2 start does not end a season. It does make every third down bigger, every red-zone trip more urgent, and every Herbert performance part of a larger career question.
