Kickoff: Sunday, 1:25 p.m. PT, SoFi Stadium
Two new coordinators, two rookies in the starting rotation, and an offensive line that has never played a regular season snap together. Week 1 against Arizona will answer more questions than most season openers, and the Chargers enter it with the cleanest injury report on either sideline.
Injury Report
Chargers
- CB Deane Leonard (abdomen): OUT. Did not practice all week. Depth corner and core special teamer.
- OLB Tuli Tuipulotu (hip): QUESTIONABLE. Limited in all three practices. Watch for a snap count if he goes.
- LB Denzel Perryman: on Injured Reserve, out a minimum of four games.
- Cleared: OLB Khalil Mack (rest), S RJ Mickens (ankle), WR Brenen Thompson (hip), RB Keaton Mitchell (hamstring). Mitchell returning to practice this week after missing six straight sessions matters for the backfield rotation.
Cardinals
- RG Isaiah Adams (knee): OUT. Arizona’s intended starter at right guard, which forces the first offensive line shuffle of their season before it starts.
- S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ribs): OUT.
- CB Garrett Williams (Achilles): OUT. Still ramping up from last year’s injury.
- RB Jeremiyah Love (ankle): QUESTIONABLE. The No. 3 overall pick was limited all week following a high ankle sprain suffered in the preseason. Mike LaFleur called it a game-time decision, though reporting throughout the week has pointed toward him playing.
- Cleared: OLB Josh Sweat (rest/knee), CB Will Johnson (ankle), P Blake Gillikin (groin).
Net effect: Arizona is short a starting guard, a starting corner, and a starting safety, and may be easing its most important rookie back on a snap count. The Chargers are missing a depth corner and a linebacker already accounted for on IR.
Storyline 1: Mike McDaniel’s First Chargers Offense
The red zone is where McDaniel’s hire will be judged first. Per Sharp Football Analysis, Justin Herbert completed 50.6% of his red zone passes in 2025 (28th in the league, lowest among playoff quarterbacks) with a league-high 5.2% interception rate and a sack rate of 8.3% on red zone dropbacks. The Chargers finished 29th in red zone touchdown rate at 47.4%.
Over four seasons under McDaniel in Miami, Tua Tagovailoa completed 64.9% of red zone throws (3rd) with a 28% touchdown rate (4th). That gap is the thesis of the offseason.
The other number worth tracking today is first and second down efficiency. The Chargers averaged 4.9 yards per play on early downs last year (28th) and faced third down on 55% of their series, second-worst in the league. McDaniel’s scheme is built to keep offenses out of those situations. Arizona’s defense, which allowed scores on 49.4% of opponent possessions in 2025 (31st) and forced punts on a league-low 23.3% of drives, is a soft first test.
The interior line McDaniel and Butch Barry inherit is entirely new: Kayode Awosika at left guard, rookie Jake Slaughter at center, and Cole Strange, who followed McDaniel from Miami, at right guard. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are healthy at tackle. PFF ranked this front 30th last season. Today is the first real data point on whether that changed.
Storyline 2: Chris O’Leary Replaces Jesse Minter
O’Leary coached Chargers safeties in 2024, ran Western Michigan’s defense in 2025, and returned in January when Minter left for the Ravens’ head coaching job. He has said publicly that the framework stays. The Minter defense finished first in points allowed in 2024 and top 10 in points and yards allowed in 2025, so continuity is the correct default.
The variance comes at the margins. O’Leary has signaled he wants to blitz more, and he has indicated the heavy outside cornerback rotation from last season may not carry over, at least initially. Cam Hart’s press-man ability fits a higher-blitz profile, so his snap share relative to Tarheeb Still and Donte Jackson is the first thing to chart.
The immediate test is Trey McBride. He set the single-season reception record for a tight end in 2025 with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Derwin James called him the focal point of Arizona’s offense this week. Expect a heavy nickel diet from O’Leary, with the linebacker snaps opposite Daiyan Henley split between Del’Shawn Phillips and second-year man Marlowe Wax while Perryman sits.
Rookie Watch: Mesidor and Slaughter
Akheem Mesidor, EDGE (Round 1, No. 22 overall)
Mesidor led the ACC with 12.5 sacks at Miami in 2025 and added 73 pressures and 15 run stops. He missed time in camp with leg swelling but declared himself 100% for the opener. The depth chart lists him third at edge behind Mack and Tuipulotu, but O’Leary has said he will have a role, and the plan on passing downs appears to be all three on the field with Mesidor kicking inside.
If Tuipulotu plays on a snap count, Mesidor’s workload goes up immediately. The matchup favors him: Arizona allowed 59 sacks last season and is now starting a backup at right guard.
Jake Slaughter, C (Round 2)
Slaughter starts at center in his first NFL game, taking every snap between two new guards. McDaniel’s framing this week was notably unhyped: he expects Slaughter to play well and expects him to go through some things in the process, and what he values is Slaughter’s ability to reset after a negative play. That is a coordinator setting expectations at rookie level, not anointing a Pro Bowler.
Arizona’s interior features Walter Nolen, which makes this a real test rather than a soft landing. Track penalties, snap operation, and whether McDaniel adjusts protection calls to help him. The fourth quarter will tell you more than the first, which is exactly how McDaniel put it.
What to Watch
- Red zone efficiency. Any improvement from 47.4% is the headline.
- Third down avoidance. Can McDaniel avoid 3rd-and-long situations that expose the Chargers interior OL?
- Mesidor’s snap share, especially if Tuipulotu is limited.
- Cornerback rotation, or lack of one.
- McBride’s success with Derwin keyed on him, versus when O’Leary gets creative with Derwin.
- Slaughter’s overall body of work today, while expecting 2-4 rookie mistakes.
Follow Along With StormCloud
Kickoff is 1:25 p.m. PT. This thread is live for the full game. Drop your reactions, snap count observations, and anything you’re seeing on the broadcast in the comments below. We’ll be in there with you, and the post-game breakdown will pull from what this community flags during the game.
Bolt up.
My quick reaction to that game is that it was just one of those games that hinged on big plays and all of the big plays were made by the Cardinals. The blocked punt, the 4th down sack, the turnovers. The Cardinals made 4 big plays and the Chargers made zero.
The thing I was most disappointed in was the running game. I really expected it to to look much better and it did not look good at all. All of those zone pitches failed. That was frustrating. There were also several plays where I saw like all three IOL players blocking one man and then leaving someone else free. It seemed like Slaughter was usually in the right spot (I think?), but one or both of the guards were not!
The punt block and the 4th down stuff were the two most disappointing single plays. Just terrible execution up the middle, but overall I was just deeply unimpressed with the flow of the offense and it starts with the run game looking borderline useless. QJ also had a terrible game. His routes looked straight up lazy and bad.
In general I think they need to get Hampton more involved on screens if they’re not going to be able to run the ball. He needs more touches and like 65% of the offense should just be Hampton and McConkey touches.
I can hardly wait to be told how much we’re overreacting.
The entire business plan of the NFL is overreaction 🙂
It’s the participation trophy mindset that’s invaded our culture. Again, at the end of the day this is entertainment, but they are providing a product. The customers are allowed to be critical of that product.
Just a question for the fans. Harbaugh doesn’t coach either side of the ball, so if the team comes out unprepared and get outcoached multiple times a season and in the playoffs, what is his real function?
Damn good question. I’d issue pom-poms for his next sideline appearance. And a smoke machine.
Isn’t this like asking what a CEO of a large company does?
Yes, but if the stock regularly tanks and the company doesn’t grow and adapt, would you question their effectiveness or just be happy keeping on?
I’m not being negative. Just saying that with 100M of cap space, our big additions to the OG unit were Awosika, Penning, Strange and Pipkins, but we spent 24M on a TE that didn’t record a stat yesterday. Make of that what you will.
I absolutely agree with the CBS Game Grade:
Putting Pipkins in at guard on the 4th & goal, then have him do his best Bozeman imitation changed the game. Dude cannot be playing guard. The Chargers cannot be giving up immediate pressure up the middle.
And Harbaugh STILL doesn’t get it.
https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/chargers/2026/09/14/chargers-cardinals-jim-harbaugh-trey-pipkins-kayode-awosika/91754448007/?utm_source=smg-chargerswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SMGbaseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=8872WS-E-ChargersWire
The Pipkins thing is definitely the most puzzling thing going on. It reminds me of the Jeromy Clary years. The guy who is obviously the weak link but just keeps sticking around.
Pipkins simply needs to be the swing tackle and that’s it (and I think he is perfectly adequate for that).
In all fairness that OL with Clary was light years better overall. In fact, the rest of it was so good, Clary stood out at RT and he was still better than anything we are trotting out at OG now.
They’ve brought in an upgrade for Pipkins every offseason. I thought for sure he was a TT pet project that he couldn’t quit, but after they didn’t trade him to LV when TT was GM and needed a tackle, and then kept him on the roster for an inflated $6.75M in cash in 2025, I started suspecting he was John’s project all along.
The fact that he was extended to a third contract – a RARITY on this team – to an above-average salary for a player the GM continuously upgrades in FA and the draft, speaks to dysfunction somewhere in the organization. It looks like Hortiz keeps trying to replace him, but Spanos won’t let the team quit him.
It just looks/feels symptomatic of the type of owner meddling that holds teams back from actually building a winning culture, led by the actual football men in the building.
The move to rotate left guards was asinine to begin with – but I think the underlying issue it exposes is that Harbaugh/Hortiz are still stuck appeasing an under qualified and incompetent voice in the room.
It’s interesting… Without a full tinfoil hat on, I have definitely been wondering how much Spanos influence is still left. When Harbaugh/Hortiz first took over, it really felt like they finally sidelined the Spanos’ input. But decisions like Pipkins and QJ reek of John’s meddling.
Your last paragraph speaks volumes and has been my contention since the early days of my fanhood, which began in 92. By 96ish I was fully on board with wanting new ownership.
We’ve been thru numerous HC’s, GM’s, coordinators etc. and still run into the same issues. There’s one constant through it all. And for the folks who say this ownership isn’t cheap, that it spends on players I say this….there’s a WAY to spend on talent and a way to waste money on guys like Pipkins. He’s just one example. There’s a way to address holes via free agency vs a timid response.
There isn’t a top-down championship mentality in this organization. The owners are tenants attempting to increase the monetary value of the team and they’re too stupid to realize winning is the best way to do that. They can’t even claim the asset that is most valuable to a team….a stadium. Adding a nepo baby with an outsized and inept voice is not going to get this team anywhere but where we’ve been….overhyped and underwhelming.
Yes, this was just one game, but it certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen this sort of effort from a Harbaugh-led Chargers team. The big talk doesn’t match the walk. The stated intent for the team doesn’t match the actions taken. The disconnect is obvious to anyone willing to take an objective look. And it’s grown very old.
There’s no doubt there are recurring themes and philosophical priorities. For example, the team has always valued the “splash” positions and never put in an effort to establish a truly dominating line on either side of the ball. Another example appears to be their latching on to their pet projects/pride picks like QJ and Pipkins. I identified Clary as another example from a prior era. I think they also tend to hold onto “bust” draft picks for too long. Cutting Colson was actually a big surprise to me.
To use your words, it does become obvious to anyone willing to take an objective look.
The problem is they’ve “lucked out” on QBs so they’ve never really paid the price, to speak. They actually have the 9th best winning % in the NFL (regular season) over the last 25 years. That goes down to 15th since 1990.
I have constantly had the feeling that the ownership feels this is “good enough”, and that’s why they never get over the hump to actually win a Super Bowl. That mentality ends up seeping throughout the organization despite coaching and front office changes.
Good enough…..that’s it in a nutshell. They don’t have the drive to go and get a championship.
I’m praying this isn’t seeping into Hortiz’ roster building in FA, but that could explain having 100M and not going into overkill with the IOL. Why wouldn’t you just overkill it? The way they have looked and played the last 2 season compounded with our injury luck, nobody would care with some 10-15M contract guys as backups.
The most likely answer to this is the ownership cash position which is different than what is on the salary cap. That’s the occam’s razor explanation.
OK – you brought something up that was another clue that I mentioned on Twitter. Comparing Pipkins/QJ to someone like Colson, Kennard, even Cornelius Johnson.
We know those three guys were Harbaugh and Hortiz picks. No one would have been surprised if they hun onto Colson or Johnson than they otherwise would have deserved, but Jim and Joe clearly are OK with admitting when someone isn’t working out and moving on from them.
How is this philosophy not applied to Trey? I don’t think QJ deserves to be cut… but for a team obsessed with comp picks to take his 5th year option at nearly 20M…. that’s pretty nuts. Especially when we have a a franchise tag we could use in the unlikely event he blows up this year and we want to buy time for an extension.
There are just two very, very different ways of handling some players within this organization, and I do remember early on Jim and Joe going out of their way for praising John’s involvement in the draft process and how much all of this has been a “collaboration.” To me – the collaboration seems to be letting Johnny get a couple of his tagalongs and Jim and Joe trying to build a roster around that.
IOL was still not sufficiently addressed and therefore the running game is non existent and the pass protection is an issue as well. Receivers still can’t get separation and we have the same issues regardless of who the OC is. You can polish a turd, but it’s still a turd.
Boy that brain trust OC looked hawt today….
They rolled out Pipkins at guard, nuff said….
And he let someone run right past him on 4th & goal, which got Herbert sacked for a 10 yard loss. That was a momentum changer. Fucking terrible decision putting him in the game at all, let alone at that critical point.
He started the second half AFTER that happened. It’s gobsmackingly stupid.
Herbert oughtta tell them to fuck off and retire.
I may try to watch the all-22 tomorrow specifically to watch OL play. I didn’t notice Awosika being a problem. Pipkins whiffing on that block was obvious and terrible. That literally could have been the difference in the game. They punch it in there and they’re up 14-10 going into the half.
The whole offense looked out of sorts. Confused. Playing slow. This better get fixed soon are they’re going to be out of the playoffs before Halloween.
Fuck Jim Harbaugh. I put aside my personal dislike of him to support the team but I’m done with his goofy ass. This team was thoroughly unprepared, made no adjustments at halftime, and got thoroughly outplayed by arguably the weakest opponent on the schedule. That’s all squarely on his shoulders.
By a rookie coach with Jacoby Brissett at QB.
Yep….almost 300 yards passing, 73% completion rate, and what? 2 TD’s?
Erick is right….this looked like a Staley defense and I don’t know what the offense looked like except crap. And ST’s got in on the suck too.
Yea, the super bowl run we all expected got off to a bumpy start.
Let’s see how the Raider game goes. If they look terrible in that game, I will start sharpening my pitchfork…
When Harbaugh craps the bed he empties his colon. Every unit sucked today.
I thought the defense was OK. Offense: Terrible. Special Teams: Terrible.
Brissett threw for nearly 300 yards and a 70+% completion rate. The defense was not ok.
The Cardinals had a good game plan and Brissett played well. Gotta give them some credit. I was impressed with how poised and decisive he was and how quickly he got the ball out. His time to throw seemed very fast. I didn’t think the defense played terribly overall, but if I have any gripe it, it was just their gameplan about the way they covered McBride, who is clearly their best player. They mainly tried to just single cover him which I think was a big mistake. They should’ve put more attention on him and forced others to beat them.
They had and executed a good game plan. I’m not certain we had one at all.
There were no significant halftime adjustments either, beyond trotting Pipkins out first in the second half.
I’m not showering my disrespect on the Cards. The Chargers get all of that and it’s deserved. They were sloppy, unprepared, and uninspired.
I need to see more, but we looked visibly slower than the Cards on the field. Our rushers and skill guys outside of Ladd and Hampton looked pedestrian. The scheme can only cover up so much.
Yes, team seems to lack speed and “violence”. The O-line in particular looked like they wanted to finesse everything. Sometimes you gotta just be tougher than the guy across from you.
I thought our interior D line looked solid and the edge guys seemed ok, but Brissett was getting the ball out very quickly.
What made him look better was the 10-12 yards we seemed to be dropping off the ball in zone. How many of those Brissett passes were in tight windows while being rushed? It honestly looked like a Staley defense. COL seemed to be calling a game deathly afraid about getting beat over the top for big plays in his first game. I honestly hate that approach. Watching the NFL every week, how many plays are made by chucking it 40-50 yards downfield? Most of the explosives are guys making catches through the intermediate zone and breaking away- see Zay Flowers game vs Colts.
Agree. I expected the offense to be a lot better, even aside from the miscues like the INT and the fumble. As I mentioned above, the run game was a lot worse than I was hoping to see.
Looks like we are in prime position to pick Jeremiah Smith with the first pick of the draft!! Yes!!!
Clueless, unprepared, and now panicked. But our cap space looks great. 🙄
Might as well have all 3 phases look like shit.
Thought this was the easiest game on our schedule. Oh boy…
Apparently they prepared with that mindset.
No run game, QB under pressure. Sound familiar?
Well that’s one way to get yards.
Y’all enjoying this? Where are those magnificent coaches that had these players ready to roll? I’m squinting real hard but I don’t see them. I see an unprepared team that made no significant adjustments at halftime.
Not enjoying it very much yet. Offense doesn’t feel too far off to be honest. The defense well that’s a completely different story. They look lost and in need of some big adjustments
I’ve seen little out of the offense not named McConkey.
Story of ever preseason. How great this team is and it never changes. Still can’t run the football. Still play like keystone cops.
But we’ve got cap space!!! 👍🏼👍🏼🫤
They look poor in just about every aspect.
yep
This team looks unprepared and that’s on Harbaugh.
Hampton better shake it off and be careful with that rock. Those 3 points are on him and this D doesn’t look like it can withstand turnovers.
Football is back, boys! Been a while since I’ve been here. The site is looking very nice. Let’s tighten this D up and get this W.
Welcome back!
Sheesh….that was ugly.
QJ needs to come back to that ball, right?
He was, just not hard enough. The defense read it well and drove on the ball harder than he did.
Good stand by the goalpost. lol
The defense looks out of synch.
Yeah, seems like there are huge holes underneath. Hope they can clean that up
They look slow and out of synch to me.
Hampton is a stud. Just give him a hole.
Selfishly, I’m such a big Love fan I was stoked to see him punch it in.
i don’t really expect to see O’Leary be excellent/great from the jump. It I REALLY want to see this offense blow up
He’d better be a fast learner. We’re getting a pretty easy start. Beginning week 3 it’s brutal.
Well are you happy now Kyle? 😅
Sure glad we opened with such a cupcake game….lol.
😂 😂 😂
Defense looking just great so far. 🙄
This is exactly the type of drive I want the Charger a to put together
Very much looking forward to this. Especially excited to see this McDaniel offense. What would you guys want to see to comfortably say that this offense is going to be top 5 or top 10 in the league? This with the obvious caveat that it is only week 1.
For me it would be 25+ points and several drives of multiple plays where they show control of the offense and the game. No pre snap penalties would also be very nice.
None of the above, as it turned out….
Thx Kyle….nice work.
I expect some hiccups and won’t be surprised if AZ hangs around closer than we’d like. Ultimately Chargers win, I’m thinking 27-20. IF I was betting I’d take the spread and the under.
Go Bolts!!! ⚡️⚡️⚡️