T
he Los Angeles Chargers have hit rock bottom. Losing 23-17 to the Denver Broncos in Week 5, the franchise dropped to 0-5– their first 0-5 start to a season since 2003. Nothing has gone right, with quarterback Justin Herbert playing the worst football of his career and the offense as a whole playing stagnant. Things got even worse on Tuesday night.
Two days after the loss, the Chargers’ social media team uploaded a hype video for their Week 6 road game against a fierce rival, the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. The video features running back Kimani Vidal taking a handoff from Herbert and scoring a touchdown. Fans were quick to criticize the post, with most alluding to the team’s winless start to the season.
Fans Criticize the Post
The video itself was not anything to write home about, but fans questioned the timing, especially when the team’s most recent loss came after leading 17-10 in the final quarter. YouTuber Esai Givens, a fan of the Las Vegas Raiders, was the most notable figure to comment on the post.
“You are 0-5,” Givens tweeted with two crying emojis.
Another fan commented that the post caption, ‘this edit is so tuff,’ is not fitting given the circumstances. Another fan asked if they could edit the team a win.
Things certainly have not gone to plan in Los Angeles, but there is still time to turn it around. The Chargers go on a bye week after facing the Chiefs before the Los Angeles Rams as the away team and the Houston Texans at home. No team in NFL history has ever made the playoffs after starting a season 0-5, but they are hoping to break that trend and prove the doubters wrong.
The Chargers Current Mentality
Starting 0-5 isn’t ideal, but giving up is not an option for this group. Since Jim Harbaugh took over as the head coach in 2024, the franchise has made the playoffs in two straight seasons. The Chargers have a similar team to those years and know what they can do, and some players are speaking their minds about how the team needs to approach the rest of the year.
“We can’t fold,” outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu said. “It’s easy to fold when you’re 0-5.”
The Chargers loss in Week 5 came on the final play, where Herbert was sacked in Broncos territory, ending any shot of the team scoring one final time. That was the nail in the coffin for a rough fourth quarter. The Broncos failed on a 4th and 1 play to give the Chargers the ball back, but they could not capitalize. Herbert fumbled and threw an interception in the quarter as well, resulting in the Broncos scoring 13 unanswered points. Harbaugh spoke to reporters after the game, and was blunt with his thoughts.
“I felt our players played well enough to win that game,” he said.
Chargers Social Media Team Put on Blast for Questionable Hype Video Post