Jim Harbaugh’s not in Ann Arbor anymore.
Harbaugh’s third year with the Chargers has started as badly as it possibly could have, with two home losses against a pair of the worst teams in the league last season.
In both games, against the Cardinals and the Raiders, the Chargers ended up on the wrong side of a 26-14 score.
Let’s put it in perspective. Per NBC Sports research, only two teams (the 1987 Colts and the 2003 Eagles) rebounded from 0-2 starts with both losses at home to make the playoffs. (In all, teams have begun the year with two straight home games 209 times.)
Via OptaStats, the Chargers are the second team in NFL history to lose back-to-back games at home against teams that had a winning percentage below .200 the prior year. It last happened exactly 100 years ago, to the 1926 Racine Tornadoes. The Tornadoes played only one more game before folding.
The Chargers’ fans may be folding the tents on making it to the playoffs in 2026. A gauntlet is coming for Harbaugh and company: at Bills, at Seahawks, Broncos, at Chiefs. Then comes a bye week.
If they lose the next four and go into the two-week break at 0-6, who knows what will happen next?
That said, the NFL remains an “any given Sunday” league. The Chargers have found that out the hard way, through the first two Sundays of the season. Still, it won’t be easy to get a win in any of the next four games.
It won’t be easy beyond that, either. They still face the Rams, Texans, Ravens, 49ers, Chiefs (again), and Broncos (again). Barring a significant turnaround, another “mutual parting” could be looming for Harbaugh and his current NFL employer.
