Jim Harbaugh is no longer in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh’s third year with the Chargers has started as poorly as it could have, with two home losses against a pair of the league’s worst teams last season. In both games, against the Cardinals and Raiders, the Chargers finished on the wrong side of a 26-14 score. Let’s put it in perspective. According to NBC Sports research, only two teams (the 1987 Colts and the 2003 Eagles) recovered from 0-2 starts with both losses at home to make the playoffs. (In total, teams have started the year with two consecutive home games 209 times.) Via OptaStats, the Chargers are the second team in NFL history to lose consecutive home games against teams that had a winning percentage below .200 the year before. It last happened exactly 100 years ago, with the Racine Tornadoes of 1926. The Tornadoes played just one more game before folding. Chargers fans may be putting together their plans to make the playoffs in 2026. A challenge looms for Harbaugh and company: on the Bills, on the Seahawks, on the Broncos, on the Chiefs. Then comes a week of rest. If they lose the next four and enter the two-week break at 0-6, who knows what will happen next? That being said, the NFL is still an “any given Sunday” league. The Chargers found out the hard way, during the first two Sundays of the season. Still, it won’t be easy to get a win in any of the next four games. Nor will it be beyond that. They still face the Rams, Texans, Ravens, 49ers, Chiefs (again) and Broncos (again). Unless a significant change occurs, another “mutual separation” could be on the horizon for Harbaugh and his current NFL employer.
