Chargers doomed by a multitude of mistakes in season-opening loss to Cardinals

The Chargers are trying to find their sea legs with their new offense.

More pre-snap motion. Unbalanced formations. A dizzying array of plays.

They unveiled the new scheme Sunday and mostly came away queasy, losing to the Arizona Cardinals 26-14 in what proved to be Jim Harbaugh’s first Week 1 defeat as an NFL head coach.

Arizona, meanwhile, attacked in waves — blocking a punt in the fourth quarter and taking over three yards from the end zone. The visitors scored two plays later, silencing the already-subdued SoFi Stadium crowd.

🏈 Cardinals 26, Chargers 14 — FINAL

The inability to stop Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett coupled with costly mistakes on offense down the stretch added up to a season-opening loss for the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

An interception thrown by Justin Herbert followed by a disastrous possession that resulted in four Chargers penalties annihilated any hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback, sending Jim Harbaugh to his first season-opening loss as an NFL head coach.

Brissett completed 27 of 37 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.

Herbert completed 17 of 27 passes for 209 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

The Cardinals racked up 395 total yards.

🏈 Cardinals 26, Chargers 14 — 2:33 left in the fourth quarter

Chad Ryland kicked a 49-yard field goal after the Cardinals capitalized on a disastrous possession by the Chargers to extend their lead.

After getting the ball with 4:44 left, the Chargers committed four penalties and failed to convert on fourth-and-18, giving the Cardinals a chance to extend their lead late in the fourth quarter.

Rookie center Jake Slaughter was flagged for false start and holding penalties before an offensive pass interference penalty by tight end David Njoku on fourth down gave Arizona the ball at the Chargers’ 38.

The Chargers are out of timeouts.

🏈 Cardinals 23, Chargers 14 — 9:39 left in the fourth quarter

With the Chargers running out of time to mount a comeback, Justin Herbert tried to Derius Davis on a deep pass but was instead picked off by Arizona safety Andrew Wingard.

Arizona will take over at its five-yard line.

The interception came one play after an impressive catch by tight end David Njoku.

🏈 Cardinals 23, Chargers 14 — 11:44 left in the fourth quarter

Tight end Trey McBride caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett two plays after the Cardinals blocked a punt attempt deep in Chargers territory.

Arizona’s Simi Fehoko blocked a JK Scott punt deep, allowing the Cardinals to recover at the Chargers’ three-yard line. It was the first Chargers blocked punt in 76 games, dating to the 2021 season.

Cardinals safety Kitan Crawford was carted to the locker room after sustaining an undisclosed injury.

🏈 Cardinals 16, Chargers 14 — 6:03 left in the third quarter

Justin Herbert connected with Ladd McConkey on an eight-yard touchdown pass to make it a two-point game.

Herbert found McConkey at the two-yard line after the third-year wide receiver broke off coverage to score his first touchdown of the season.

The Herbert-McConkey connection has been one of the bright spots for the Chargers so far. McConkey has five catches for 82 yards.

A 48-yard pass interference penalty on Arizona cornerback Max Melton on a deep ball intended for Tre’ Harris fueled the three-play, 60-yard drive.

🏈 Cardinals 16, Chargers 7 — 7:25 left in the third quarter

Chad Ryland kicked a 34-yard field goal to extend Arizona’s lead after the Chargers were finally able to halt a quick-moving, 75-yard drive in the red zone.

Derwin James Jr. broke up a pass intended for Arizona tight end Trey McBride on third down to shut down the possession.

Arizona receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder catch for 33 yards on the second play of the drive. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett also connected on passes of 13 and 17 yards.

The Chargers received the ball to open the second half, but the possession fizzled at their 42 when Justin Herbert failed to connect with Tre’ Harris on third down.

🏈 Cardinals 13, Chargers 7 — HALFTIME

Chad Ryland kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to extend the Cardinals’ lead.

A 15-yard face mask penalty by Paris Johnson Jr. on Tuli Tuipulotu ended Arizona’s hopes of scoring a touchdown to cap the half. A 23-yard pass interference penalty on Donte Jackson was the biggest Cardinals gain on the eight-play, 61-yard drive.

Justin Herbert completed seven of nine passes for 118 yards in the first half, with Ladd McConkey catching four passes for 74 yards. Omarion Hampton has rushed for 22 yards and a touchdown (along with a lost fumble) on six carries.

Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett has completed 16 of 31 passes for 165 yards so far. The Cardinals have 233 total yards to the Chargers’ 151. Arizona, which received the opening kickoff, possessed the ball for 19:08 to the Chargers’ 10:52.

Arizona committed five penalties for 58 yards.

🏈 Cardinals 10, Chargers 7 — 1:55 left in the second quarter

Cardinals defensive end Dante Stills sacked Justin Herbert on fourth-and-goal from the three to thwart Jim Harbaugh’s gamble and keep Arizona in the lead.

The sack ended a 10-play, 63-yard drive that included a 26-yard pass to Oronde Gadsden and a 14-yard reception by Ladd McConkey.

🏈 Cardinals 10, Chargers 7 — 6:51 left in the second quarter

Chad Ryland kicked a 27-yard field goal to give the Cardinals the lead following a lost fumble by Omarion Hampton.

The Cardinals drove 57 yards in 12 plays, but the Chargers defense managed to halt them in the red zone. A 12-yard reception by Kendrick Bourne moved the ball into the red zone. An 18-yard run by Jeremiyah Love helped fuel the possession early on.

Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett has completed 12 of 15 passes for 120 yards so far.

🏈 Cardinals 7, Chargers 7 — 13:22 left in the second quarter

Chargers running back Omarion Hampton fumbled the ball, and Arizona’s Will Johnson recovered to give the Cardinals the ball on the Cardinals’ 34-yard line.

Hampton fumbled the ball when he ran into the back of wide receiver Tre’ Harris. It was the first lost fumble of Hampton’s NFL career.

🏈 Cardinals 7, Chargers 7 — 14:51 left in the second quarter

Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland missed a 54-yard field-goal attempt, with the ball bouncing off the right upright to keep the score tied.

The missed attempt came after an eight-play, 34-yard drive that included standout tight end Trey McBride making a spectacular, 17-yard catch.

🏈 Cardinals 7, Chargers 7 — 4:22 left in the first quarter

Omarion Hampton scored on a nine-yard touchdown run, breaking through multiple tackles to find the end zone and help tie the score late in the first quarter.

The touchdown capped an eight-play, 77-yard drive that included Justin Herbert completing passes of 18, 23 and 19 yards to Ladd McConkey in an impressive opening drive for the Mike McDaniel-orchestrated offense.

🏈 Cardinals 7, Chargers 0 — 8:49 left in the first quarter

Arizona running back Jeremiyah Love scored on a five-yard run to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive in coach Mike LaFleur’s debut as Cardinals coach.

The Cardinals wasted no time challenging the Chris O’Leary defense, with quarterback Jacoby Brissett connecting on a 27-yard pass to standout tight end Trey McBride on the first play from scrimmage.

Three plays later, Brissett converted on third down with an 11-yard scramble.

Jake Slaughter’s teammates could only laugh as the rookie center was swarmed by reporters asking him questions in the Chargers’ locker room.

“I don’t think he does too good with the cameras and stuff,” Isaiah World said as he recorded the spectacle with his phone. “He’s real old school.”

Whether he minds it or not, the precocious 23-year-old is living in the spotlight. Slaughter enters the Chargers’ season opener against the Arizona Cardinals as the starting center.

The second-round pick out of Florida took over the role after Tyler Biadasz, who signed a three-year deal with the Chargers last offseason, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in practice last month.

There’s a sense of urgency throughout the Chargers’ training facility in El Segundo.

“I’m just really fired up,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We got us a ball team.”

With Mike McDaniel leading a revamped offense and Chris O’Leary leading an already-solid defense, Harbaugh and second-year general manager Joe Hortiz have good reason for optimism.

Here is a look at the Chargers’ roster heading into Week 1:

The doctor is in. All in.

How could he not be?

His younger brother is Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who two years ago eclipsed Peyton Manning for the most yardage in NFL history through a player’s first five seasons.

The doctor in this case is Mitch Herbert, 30, in the second year of his orthopedic surgery residency at UCLA, giving him a front-row seat to his brother’s rise to NFL stardom.

Here are the players who will not be suiting up for the Chargers and Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium on Sunday:

Chargers

S RJ Mickens

DB Deane Leonard

G Logan Taylor

G Alex Harkey

OL Trevor Penning

Cardinals

QB Carson Beck

CB Garrett Williams

S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

G Isaiah Adams

WR Reggie Virgil

DL Andrew Billings

Ask Mike McDaniel where his head is, and you’ll get a philosophical answer.

Ask him where his feet are, and you’ll get the same.

“That’s a huge compass for me, or a guiding measurement — being where my feet are,” said McDaniel, Yale-educated offensive coordinator of the Chargers.

To him, that means living in the present. Not steeping in the anxiety of the past or future.

The NFL mountaintop this season sits 10 stories underground.

That’s the subterranean field at SoFi Stadium, playing host on Feb. 14, 2027 to its second Super Bowl. The first came five years earlier when the Rams beat Cincinnati on their home field.

It will mark the ninth Super Bowl in the Los Angeles area across three venues: the Coliseum (two), Rose Bowl (five) and SoFi (two). But in some ways, all those previous games were a drumroll leading up to this one — Super Bowl LXI, in a futuristic $5-billion stadium, absent the lingering restrictions of a pandemic.

Don’t know who needs to hear this — certainly not Chargers fans — but Derwin James Jr. is a block-knocking, bone-crunching, body-rattling delight.

And you owe it to yourself to indulge at some point this NFL season in the Derwin James experience.

He’s a football player’s football player. A leader’s leader. A “force multiplier,” as former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco put it.

“There aren’t a lot like him that I’ve been around,” Telesco said. “Especially on the defensive side. Some quarterbacks — Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck. But being on the defensive side? He’s one of one.”

After a 2025 season in which their offensive line disintegrated before their eyes, the Chargers had every reason to believe this would be a bounce-back year. They thought they could build a fortress around quarterback Justin Herbert, providing him an airtight pocket to pick apart defenses.

Already, that line is beginning to crumble.

Tyler Biadasz, the talented center they signed to a three-year, $30-million deal in March, suffered a knee injury in training camp and is done for the year. Rookie Jake Slaughter moves to that critical spot, and although the second-round pick played that position in college, the Chargers were hoping to start him at guard.

Meanwhile, left tackle Rashawn Slater, who missed all of last season after sustaining a knee injury in training camp, was sidelined for much of August because of a flare-up to that same knee.

Jim Harbaugh wants his teams to finish seasons the way they start them.

If the Chargers do that, they’re going all the way.

Counting his four seasons with San Francisco, Harbaugh is 6-0 in NFL season debuts as a head coach. That’s tied for the most opening victories without a loss in league history.

“It’s September. It’s time to play our first game,” Harbaugh told reporters this week. “And I support no cause, foreign or domestic, other than the greatness of the Los Angeles Chargers.”