The Los Angeles Chargers are heading into Week 4 with an aspiration to finally secure a win in the 2026 season. Their first three matchups didn’t go as planned, and they lost the three games by margins of at least 8 points. And according to former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, the blame was on Justin Herbert.
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“It’s interesting watching Justin Herbert,” Wilson said on CBS Sports’ Set Hut! podcast. “I don’t feel like he’s comfortable yet. They’re sitting at 0-3. First of all, that’s a problem. That’s a worry. But second of all is I don’t feel like their best player, in Justin Herbert, feels completely confident yet.”
After the Chargers acquired Mike McDaniel as their new offensive coordinator, they expected Herbert to thrive under him. Well, McDaniel’s four-year stint with the Miami Dolphins brought him under the spotlight as the Dolphins entered the AFC playoffs as the sixth seed in the league back in 2023. But things didn’t work out in the last two seasons with Miami. And now McDaniel appears to be struggling to integrate his system with Herbert.
“Think about what Mike [McDaniel] did in Miami,” Wilson continued. “He had Tua [Tagovailoa], on time, quick play action, ball out, looks up. He had these fast receivers in Tyreek Hill. Just constant motions. That’s not really how Justin Herbert plays. I think that, that transition is going to take a few more weeks. But are they going to have time for Justin Herbert to do that?”
While McDaniel operates well with quarterbacks who can react and throw quickly, Herbert likes to take his time going for deep throws and relying on play action. But ESPN’s Dan Graziano noted that in the last game against the Buffalo Bills, Herbert seemed confused and overwhelmed with the play calls. It was the Chargers’ inability to establish a running game and struggles in the red zone that led them to a 24-16 defeat.
Meanwhile, Herbert completed only 20-of-34 passes for 226 yards. In the previous two games against the Raiders and the Cardinals, the quarterback completed 32 passes for 401 yards in total. And he scored only one passing touchdown in each game, while facing a total of four interceptions so far.
Following the defeat against the Bills, the Chargers’ head coach Jim Harbaugh had only one piece of advice for Herbert. And that’s to “be better.” He claimed that it’s one of the few things that drive Herbert, McDaniel, him, and possibly the entire team.
“At this point I think I have a much better understanding of things that lead to him making good plays,” offensive coordinator McDaniel told the media on Thursday.
Furthermore, McDaniel claimed that he was “fully responsible” for the poor start of the 2026 season. And despite the struggles, Harbaugh confessed that the Chargers “trust Mike” and “believe in Mike.”
“There has been improvement, but does anyone care? No, but we better improve. . . . I’m not trying to have moral victories or anything like that,” McDaniel noted. “It’s steadfast that there’s things that we’ve done in the past three games that is active participation in losing the game. Flat out, our jobs are to improve everything. I’m not living in hope, I’m living in reality.”
Facing an unforgiving 0-3 hole, the Chargers have zero time to waste. Meanwhile, Herbert and McDaniel must bridge their gaps in order to prevent the season from slipping away.