The Los Angeles Chargers are seven games into the 2026 season, and the conversation has already shifted from playoff expectations to a much uglier possibility.

After opening the year 0-7, the Bolts are staring at a situation nobody expected when the season began. They are not just trying to find their first win anymore. They are trying to avoid becoming the first team in NFL history to finish a 17-game season without winning once.

That is an unbelievable place for a team led by Jim Harbaugh to be in. Harbaugh was brought in to change the direction of this franchise, and there was a reason people believed the Chargers could be a serious team.

The offense has been a major concern. It is difficult to win consistently when a team is producing very little, and it becomes almost impossible when the offense cannot give the defense much room for error. Justin Herbert is the face of this team, but they need far more around him if they are going to change the direction of this season. Better play from the franchise quarterback would be nice as well. 

Is a winless season actually possible?

The history makes this situation more interesting. The NFL has seen teams finish 0-16, with the Detroit Lions doing it in 2008 and the Cleveland Browns following in 2017. But neither team had to play 17 regular-season games. The league moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021, and no team has finished 0-17 since that change.

The last time the Bolts were this bad was over 25 years ago. LA Times columnist Mirjam Swanson noted that “They played like a team ready to accept another defeat and fell to 0-7 for the first time since 2000, when Harbaugh was their quarterback.”

The Chargers still have 10 games left, which means there is time to turn things around. Their remaining schedule includes matchups against the Texans, Ravens, Jets, Patriots, Buccaneers, Raiders, 49ers, Dolphins, Chiefs and Broncos. There are games in that group where the Bolts  should have a chance to compete, but that does not mean anything is guaranteed. At this point, even getting one win has become something this team has to prove it can do.

The problem is that the Chargers cannot keep treating every loss like an isolated bad afternoon. Seven games have produced the same result, and the offense has shown very little consistency. The team needs to find answers quickly, because the longer this continues, the more pressure builds on the coaching staff, the players and everyone involved in the organization. Could they become the first 0-17 team in NFL history? It is too early to say that is where this season is headed, but it is no longer an outrageous question. They are 0-7, they are scoring fewer points than anyone else, and there is not much evidence right now that things are about to change. 

They do not need to start thinking about history just yet. They need to start thinking about winning a football game.