Chargers Open Season Against Cardinals, Raiders Before Grueling Seven-game Stretch

The Chargers fundamentally lived connected an airplane past season, walking much miles than immoderate different NFL team.

This season, they will person a agelong runway followed by a dramatically crisp ascent.

They unfastened against 3 first-time caput coaches successful succession, past look 4 Super Bowl-winning caput coaches successful a row.

Their first 3 games are against Arizona (Mike LaFleur), Las Vegas (Klint Kubiak) and Buffalo (Joe Brady), earlier squaring disconnected against Seattle (Mike Macdonald), Denver (Sean Payton), Kansas City (Andy Reid) and — aft a week disconnected — nan Rams (Sean McVay).

And it’s not arsenic if nan Chargers will beryllium homebodies, arsenic they person 4 coast-to-coast trips pinch roadworthy games astatine nan Bills, Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Miami. So they will still beryllium racking up nan frequent-flier miles.

The NFL made an effort to put immoderate abstraction betwixt those cross-country games for nan Chargers.

“We’re ever being sensitive, trying to make judge we’re not pingponging a squad crossed nan state pinch recreation to nan East Coast and back,” said Hans Schroeder, nan NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution. “So we effort to make judge those trips are surgery up wherever we can, and we’re not doing excessively overmuch of that backmost and forth.”

This marks nan 3rd play nether Jim Harbaugh, who has had singular occurrence astatine each extremity successful his coaching profession but has yet to triumph a playoff crippled pinch nan Chargers. Same goes for backmost Justin Herbert, who was drafted successful 2020 and is still looking for his inaugural postseason victory.

SoFi Stadium will big nan Super Bowl adjacent February, and nan Battle For Los Angeles successful Week 8 erstwhile nan Chargers play astatine nan Rams, a uncommon meaningful matchup of nan crosstown foes.

The Chargers will play 3 preseason games, each Thursday nighttime games against opponents they will look successful nan regular season. They will play astatine Houston connected Aug. 13, followed by location games against San Francisco (Aug. 20) and nan Rams (Aug. 27). All will beryllium broadcast connected CBS-LA.

Here is simply a game-by-game look astatine nan regular-season schedule (all times Pacific):

Sept. 13, ARIZONA, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): It’s a gentle commencement against nan rebuilding Cardinals, who fig to person Jacoby Brissett astatine backmost successful spot of nan acquainted Kyler Murray, who is now pinch nan Minnesota Vikings. The past clip these teams played was successful Arizona 2 years ago, and nan Cardinals won, 17-15.

Sept. 20, LAS VEGAS, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): Back-to-back location games for nan Chargers, who opened past play successful Brazil. The Chargers swept nan Raiders past season. Could No. 1 wide prime Fernando Mendoza beryllium starting astatine backmost for nan Silver and Black?

Sept. 27, astatine Buffalo, 10 a.m. (Fox): The first of 4 East Coast trips for nan Chargers, who are stepping into a reliable situation but astatine slightest won’t person to woody pinch a Buffalo winter. This is nan commencement of a rugged seven-game agelong for nan Chargers.

Oct. 4, astatine Seattle, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): The past clip these teams played was 2023, truthful nan rosters person beautiful overmuch turned complete since then. Kenneth Walker III ran for 167 yards successful that 37-23 triumph by nan Seahawks. He was Super Bowl MVP past play and is now playing for Kansas City, truthful nan Chargers will spot capable of him.

The Chargers and backmost Justin Herbert are group to play big to nan New England Patriots connected Thanksgiving weekend.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Oct. 11, DENVER, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): The Chargers and Broncos divided past season, pinch each squad holding service astatine home. The Chargers won by 3 astatine SoFi, but nan Broncos held their second-stringers to a specified section extremity successful nan regular-season finale pinch Denver winning astatine home, 19-3.

Oct. 18, astatine Kansas City, 1:25 p.m. (CBS): As is nan lawsuit pinch nan Buffalo game, nan Chargers are sidestepping immoderate perchance harsh weather. They hit nan Chiefs successful Brazil successful past season’s opener, past mislaid by 3 astatine Arrowhead successful Week 15.

Oct. 25: Bye week. In caller years, nan Chargers person almost ever gotten their week disconnected successful nan first half of nan season. They had truthful galore injuries past season, they could person utilized a week disconnected each different week.

Nov. 1, astatine Rams, 1:05 p.m. (Fox): This is simply a location crippled for some teams, truthful nan Chargers drawback a break successful position of travel. It will beryllium nan 3rd clip these stadium-mates person met since nan Rams returned successful 2016. They divided successful nan erstwhile 2 meetings, pinch nan Rams winning successful 2018 and nan Chargers successful 2023.

Nov. 8, HOUSTON, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): Harbaugh’s Chargers are 0-2 against nan Texans, losing by 4 to them astatine SoFi past season, and getting clobbered astatine Houston successful nan opening information of nan 2024 playoffs, 32-12.

Nov. 16, astatine Baltimore, 5:15 p.m. (ESPN): This is simply a “Monday Night Football” game, and for bully reason. It isn’t Harbaugh versus Harbaugh — arsenic it would person been erstwhile relative John Harbaugh was coach of nan Ravens — but Jim Harbaugh vs. Jesse Minter, his erstwhile Chargers protect coordinator.

Nov. 22, JETS, 1:05 p.m. (Fox): Finally, thing of a respite aft a battering agelong of games. Of course, successful nan NFL, you tin ne'er respire easy. The Chargers person beaten nan Jets 5 times successful a row, true, but those games were played complete nan past 14 seasons truthful those lopsided numbers aren’t applicable to this matchup.

Nov. 29, NEW ENGLAND, 5:20 p.m. (NBC): Back to nan grind for nan Chargers, who generated next-to-no discourtesy successful nan playoffs past play against nan eventual AFC champions. It was a low-scoring crippled each around, but nan Patriots ne'er looked concerned successful their 16-3 victory.

Dec. 6, astatine Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. (CBS): The Buccaneers person beaten nan Chargers 4 times successful a row, though that’s making love to 2012, truthful overmuch of that is ancient history. Baker Mayfield has revived that franchise — and his ain career.

Dec. 13, astatine Las Vegas, 1:05 p.m. (CBS): Sure, nan Chargers mightiness look Mendoza successful Week 2, but there’s an moreover greater likelihood they will spot him nan 2nd clip around.

Dec.17, SAN FRANCISCO, 5:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime): This is simply a Thursday nighttime game, and Harbaugh will beryllium facing nan franchise he sewage to nan Super Bowl successful nan 2012 season. If nan NFC West turns retired to beryllium arsenic competitory arsenic expected, nan Chargers could do nan Rams a coagulated here.

Dec. 27, astatine Miami, 10 a.m. (Fox): The Chargers won astatine Miami past play connected a last-second section extremity by Cameron Dicker. December is simply a bully clip of twelvemonth to play successful South Florida.

Week 17, KANSAS CITY, TBD: This is wherever nan schedule gets squishy and nan NFL pushes games astir to springiness nan astir breathtaking ones nan astir exposure. This crippled is TBA. It could beryllium a bully one, considering nan rivalry.

Week 18, astatine Denver, TBD: Just for illustration past season, nan Chargers decorativeness astatine nan Broncos. A difficult last exam, and possibly different gateway to nan postseason.