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This one is weird. This whole 2026 season has been a bit odd, if I'm being honest, but this one, wow, this one has been strange.
Riddle me this, Batman…how are the Los Angeles Chargers, a team so hyped by many in the media throughout the 2026 offseason, winless at 0-7? Opening weekend, the Chargers lined up to face the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals had won no more than four games in a season but once in the last four years. They hadn't had a .500 or better season since 2021. They had a totally new coaching staff and a first-time head coach. The game was in LA. There's no way…
And, the Cardinals won.
Okay, so things can be really weird in Week 1, right? The Patriots lost their 2025 opener to the Raiders. The Pats went to the Super Bowl and the Raiders ended up with the number one pick. It happens, right? So, the Chargers would get right against the Raiders the next week, right? The Raiders won just three games in 2025. They drafted number one overall. There is a new coaching staff and a first-year head coach.
And, the Raiders won.
Now, the "weird status" knob was totally turned all the way to 100. Those two games were supposed to be the layups for the 2026 Chargers, yet they were 0-2 when it was all over. Since then, the Chargers have scored just 71 points and won zero games.
That's right. In one of the most disappointing, and mystifying, starts to the 2026 season, the Chargers are 0-7 and haven't scored a TD in 27 consecutive drives. The Texans' 2-5 start has been perplexing, but the Chargers being winless after seven games??? That has been the absolute weirdest start to this, or any, season, and the Texans must keep the pressure on the winless Chargers out at SoFi Stadium.
So, let's get to know the Texans' foe for Week 9 of the 2026 season: the Los Angeles Chargers.
Los Angeles Chargers 2026 Schedule and Record (0-7)
- Week 1 – L Arizona Cardinals 26-14
- Week 2 – L Las Vegas Raiders 26-14
- Week 3 – L @ Buffalo Bills 24-16
- Week 4 – L @ Seattle Seahawks 30-23
- Week 5 – L Denver Broncos 23-17
- Week 6 – L @ Kansas City Chiefs 22-6
- Week 7 – BYE
- Week 8 – L @ Los Angeles Rams 24-9
- Week 9 – Houston Texans
- Week 10 – @ Baltimore Ravens
- Week 11 – New York Jets
- Week 12 – New England Patriots
- Week 13 – @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Week 14 – @ Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 15 – San Francisco 49ers
- Week 16 – @ Miami Dolphins
- Week 17 – Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 18 – @ Denver Broncos
Chargers Offense: 2026 Stats and Expected Week 9 Starters
Chargers offense (2026 regular season)
- Rushing yards per game – 111.1 (18th in the NFL)
- Passing yards per game – 177.1 (26th)
- Total offense per game – 288.3 (28th)
- Turnovers lost – 17 (7 fumbles lost, 10 INT)
Expected Chargers starting offense for Week 9
- QB – Justin Herbert
- RB – Omarion Hampton
- WR – Tre Harris
- WR – Ladd McConkey
- WR – Quentin Johnston
- TE – CHARLIE KOLAR or Oronde Gadsden II
- LT – TRAVIS BURKE
- LG – KAYODE AWOSIKA
- C – JAKE SLAUGHTER
- RG – COLE STRANGE
- RT – Joe Alt
Other key offensive pieces
- FB – Scott Matlock
- WR – KeAndre Lambert-Smith
- RB – Kimani Vidal
- RB – KEATON MITCHELL
- OL – LOGAN TAYLOR
- WR – BRENEN THOMPSON
- WR/Returner – Derius Davis
Italics – Rookie | ALL CAPS – New to team in 2026
Keys to Beating the Chargers Offense: Justin Herbert, Omarion Hampton and a Rookie-Heavy Line
1. See, what had happened… This offseason, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh made what many thought at the time to be a shrewd team decision. After a failed head coaching stint in Miami, Mike McDaniel was available for the Chargers to add as their offensive coordinator. When the marriage was consummated, oh my, the hype took off to astronomical levels. The McDaniel addition was a marriage made in blue and yellow heaven between the Ivy League cerebral and QB Justin Herbert. The Chargers signal caller hadn't reached his ceiling in his first six years, but it was thought that McDaniel would get THAT out of him and then some. But, then the reality of the season hit and OH MY GOD, this isn't what anyone thought. The Chargers offense has gone 27 straight drives without a touchdown. The Chargers have scored just nine touchdowns, the lowest in the league. Put it this way, the Texans have nearly doubled the TDs in 2026 (17 for Houston to nine for LAC). Herbert has twice as many INT as TD through the first seven games. When the Texans faced Herbert in the 2024 playoffs, he had thrown 23 TDs and three INTs that season, but two years later, he's thrown five TDs to ten INTs. So, keep it that way. Don't allow Herbert to get hot. Keep him on his toes. Heat him up. Hit him every time he drops to throw. Keep him uncomfortable…AT ALL TIMES.
2. Omarion the Bellcow. As much as my interview subject this week, Mack Brown, would love for me, and all Texans fans, to fall in love with Chargers RB Omarion Hampton, the Texans defense must bring the funk on the Chargers' bellcow RB. Now, he has been the leader at RB, but the Chargers have tried to spread carries amongst a trio of RBs. Harbaugh said this week, though, that the 6-0, 220-lb. former first-round pick would be the belle of the ball, meaning he's going to get the rock…a lot. He's fast, powerful and if he gets in a rhythm, he could be a serious problem. The tackling, which has been, uh, let's say, less than good for the Texans in 2026, must get to a different level to keep Hampton from finding said rhythm.
3. It DID mean something. The Texans faced the Chargers in the first preseason game of the season, but it wasn't worrisome because it was clear that each team's starters weren't going to play on either side. However, as I started prepping for this game, it stood out to me that the Chargers actually played more of their offensive line starters than normal in that preseason game. But, injuries and such to the front-line starters have put those preseason game starters – rookie Jake Slaughter at center, FA acquisition Kayode Awosika at guard and fellow rookie Travis Burke at tackle – front and center for this Chargers offense. Those guys all got plenty of reps in that preseason game and had some good moments, but they didn't do their work against the Texans' best defenders. Now, they start full-time. As such, this group has had plenty of hiccups in front of Herbert in 2026, so the Texans defense must SHOW UP, as they did last year in LA, to put equivalent pressure on this group of Chargers newbies. If there's a time for the Texans' front six/seven to go Back to the Future, it's DEFINITELY this week against a struggling group of new players on the offensive front.
Chargers Defense: 2026 Stats and Expected Week 9 Starters
Chargers defense (2026 regular season)
- Rushing yards allowed per game – 124.6 (23rd in the NFL)
- Passing yards allowed per game – 198.4 (7th)
- Total offense allowed per game – 323.0 (13th)
- Turnovers generated – 11 (6 INT, 5 fumble recoveries; Chargers are -6 in turnover margin)
Expected Chargers starting defense for Week 9
- OLB – Khalil Mack
- NT – DALVIN TOMLINSON
- DT – Teair Tart
- DE – Justin Eboigbe
- OLB – Tuli Tuipulotu
- LB – Daiyan Henley
- LB – Del'Shawn Phillips
- CB – Donte Jackson
- CB – Cam Hart
- S – Tony Jefferson
- S – Elijah Molden
- Nickel – Tarheeb Still
Other key defensive pieces
- OLB – AKHEEM MESIDOR
- OLB – Bud Dupree
- DE – Jamaree Caldwell
- DE – NICK BARRETT
- LB – Troy Dye
- S – R.J. Mickens
- S – GENESIS SMITH
- CB – Deane Leonard
Italics – Rookie | ALL CAPS – New to team in 2026
Keys to Beating the Chargers Defense: Teair Tart, Tuli Tuipulotu, Derwin James Jr. and Khalil Mack
1. Tart and Tuli. Most 0-7 teams don't have quite the defensive talent like the Chargers have. There are Pro Bowlers at every level. There are stars truly all over the field, honestly, but two guys that don't get enough recognition are NT Teair Tart and OLB Tuli Tuipulotu. Tart might be playing the best ball of his career and he was a problem for the Texans last year. He's so thick and quick that the Texans didn't have a ton of success getting a hat on him and then latching on to him at the point of attack. He's the key to success for the Texans run game – occupy him and there's a chance to run the ball well. Then, there's Tuli out on the edge. I studied him out of USC for the 2023 NFL Draft and really liked his inside-out versatility, but it wasn't until last year that I walked near him and realized how well put together he is. He sets a strong edge in the run game and he's so damn strong with his pass rush off the edge as well. These two don't get a ton of credit, but they drive this defense more than most people know or understand.
2. Derwin's Dominance…but not now. Derwin is Derwin James Jr. and he might be able to do more on a field than any other safety in the NFL. Last year, I wrote…
"The Texans need to know where he is on every play and have an approximate understanding of what he can do at that spot on every play. He's covered every single pass catching position on the field. He's a fixture in the run defense. He's a physical presence all over the field. Find #3. Have a plan for him. He was voted to the Pro Bowl for the fifth time and the fourth time in the last four years. He's making impact plays when he's down at the line of scrimmage. The Texans know that he's more of an OLB when he's at the line of scrimmage and that he has to be accounted for in the right way or he can ruin a play, series or game."
But, an injury put him on IR last week, which should open things up in the passing game, in particular. He had an interception last year and he had an interception in the playoff game that was eventually overturned. He's a menace, so it's a huge sigh of relief as the Texans offense prepares for this Chargers defense.
3. Mack is BACK. 2014 feels like EONS ago and in football years, it is. The Texans had the first pick in that draft and selected Jadeveon Clowney. A few picks later, the Oakland Raiders selected a dynamic game changer from a Group of Five school that was rarely mentioned as a college football power. But, Khalil Mack put the University at Buffalo on the map and he made sure everyone knew that he should've been the Texans' number one pick. Three All-Pro selections and nine Pro Bowl bids should put him in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot when his career is up. But, even after 12.5 years of pure greatness (he only played seven games in 2021 for the Bears), he decided to come back to the Chargers, even though it was reported that he considered retirement. I would have rather seen him retire or get traded, but he's still on the field. As such, the Texans' tackles must control him on the edge. I'd rather not see Mack putting Woody Marks THROUGH the turf as he did last year. If the Texans are going to have success in both facets, 52 must be controlled, and limited, by the Texans' tackles and TEs.
Texans vs. Chargers in Week 9: What to Know
Where do the Texans play the Chargers in Week 9? At SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
What is the Chargers' record entering Week 9? 0-7. The Chargers opened with losses to the Cardinals and Raiders and have scored just 71 points in five games since.
How long is the Chargers' touchdown drought? 27 consecutive drives without a touchdown. The Chargers have nine touchdowns this season, the fewest in the league.
Which Chargers defensive star is out? S Derwin James Jr. went on IR last week.
Who leads the Chargers' pass rush? OLBs Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu, with first-round pick Akheem Mesidor and Bud Dupree behind them.
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