Chargers suddenly face must-win game Week 2 vs. Raiders, with a brutal schedule after that

The Los Angeles Chargers suddenly don't have a lot of wiggle room. When the schedules were announced this spring, it appeared that they had a two-game buffer — home contests against the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders — to help prepare them for the meatiest part of their slate.

Then the Chargers laid an egg in the opener against an Arizona team predicted to be in full rebuild mode. Nothing went right — offense, defense or special teams. Now the Chargers' margin for error has evaporated.

Is the Week 2 game against the Raiders a must-win? It sure feels that way.

Yes, 0-2 teams make the playoffs. But since the league went to the 17-game schedule in 2021, only eight of the 40 teams that started 0-2 ended up making it to the playoffs. That's higher than the playoff rate during the 16-game era, but not by much.

The stakes will rise significantly after Week 2. The Chargers will have to go on the road to face the Bills and Seahawks in Weeks 3 and 4, then they're home against the Broncos in Week 5, followed by a road trip to Kansas City ahead of the Week 7 bye.

That's a murderers' row. Going 0-2 and trying to make the postseason after that gauntlet just doesn't feel feasible.

Determining a team's fate after Week 1 is risky business. The two Super Bowl teams from a season ago, the Patriots and Seahawks, both lost at home in their first games. Fluky games happen.

But the Chargers' struggles ran deep Sunday, and they affected all three units. Is there hope they can pull out of this early tailspin?

Let's start with the offense. After the opening-drive TD, it never got on schedule. All preseason long, it was hard to find a bad word spoken about Mike McDaniel and the endless possibilities with a quarterback of Justin Herbert 's caliber, along with a tuned-up offensive line and a host of weapons.

We saw virtually none of that Sunday. Against a defense that was near the bottom of every major category statistically a year ago.

The Chargers were 2 for 8 on third downs against the Cardinals, plus a surprising 0 for 3 on fourth downs. Jim Harbaugh isn't the least-aggressive coach on fourth downs, but he's far from the most, which is why it was surprising to see him not try to tie the game on the first fourth-down failure, trailing only 10-7 late in the second quarter.

Perhaps Harbaugh could sense that his offense would be up against it when he made that slightly uncharacteristic decision. They crossed midfield only once after halftime, and that was with good starting field position at their own 40-yard line.

The run game was unimpressive. The Chargers were wholly undisciplined, from pass protection to Herbert's accuracy to penalties. There was a six-snap stretch in the fourth quarter, with the desperate Chargers down 23-14 with less than five minutes to go, where they were flagged four times — including on their fourth-down stop.

If we count the fourth-down failures, the Chargers turned the ball over five times and had a punt blocked deep in their own zone in 10 possessions. That's absurdly bad efficiency. And to make matters worse, Ladd McConkey , who was probably their best offensive player Sunday, suffered a chest injury.

Defensively, they were a mess, too. They allowed nearly 400 yards and were on the field nearly 38 minutes — including most of the first half. They couldn't get off the field and lost the field-possession battle early and often.

"There were quite a few things," Harbaugh said. "Much to get better at. … It's not the start that we wanted, but credit to the Cardinals. And it'll be about our resolve, our way we bounce back."

Division games always matter a little more, but the Chargers' circumstances make Sunday's game at SoFi Stadium even more important.

The Raiders started their season with a solid Week 1 win, but then again, they beat the Patriots in New England in the first game a year ago and won only twice more all season. Even still, there were some pretty encouraging moments from Las Vegas against the Dolphins.

The offensive line appeared to be solid to good in coach Klint Kubiak's debut. Kirk Cousins had mostly clean pockets, and the run game was mostly productive. The passing game felt tame at times without Brock Bowers , and Cousins threw two picks, but there were some encouraging signs.

The Raiders' defense, led by a rejuvenated Maxx Crosby , started well and finished strong. They allowed Miami only 108 yards after halftime, forcing empty possessions on six of Miami's seven second-half possessions.

The Chargers might have owned the Raiders by double-digit points in both matchups a season ago, but this feels like it'll be a tougher challenge Sunday. Especially if Bowers can return, which apparently remains a possibility.

Even with Bowers, the Raiders might not have quite the skill-position talent the Cardinals do, but they're not far off. And the Kubiak formula is similar: They can chew some clock, as they did vs. Miami, for the first three quarters anyway. The Chargers know they have to get off the field on third downs.

Offensively, the Chargers must be better on first downs. They also have to protect far better, especially against Crosby, who had a two-sack game against them late last season and who had 1.5 sacks and seven pressures on Sunday. The Raiders reduced his snap count somewhat in Week 1, compared to years past, and the strategy appeared to pay off.

McDaniel has to find a way to get the run game cooking as a way to open up the playbook and keep those pass rushers at bay. The Raiders really honed in on De'Von Achane in Week 1, and they held him to 36 yards rushing on 11 carries, with a long run of 10. That likely can't be what Omarion Hampton 's Week 2 stat line looks like if the Chargers want to get things going.

The Chargers still have strong talent, especially on offense, but what we saw in Week 1 was discouraging. McDaniel's system might still need some time to marinate, but time appears to be the one thing they're really short on right now.