NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
It’s hard to argue with results, but an 11-6 season for the Los Angeles Chargers has to be considered a success, right? Given the team spent a lot of time and resources to bring in Jim Harbaugh and to build around QB Justin Herbert, did the 2024 Chargers accomplish everything they set out to do. After winning just 5 games in 2023 and finishing dead last in the AFC West, fans have to be pleased with a quick turnaround into double-digit wins. That has to be considered a success.
Well, that depends on who you ask and what their definition of success is. In a division that featured 3 playoff teams in 2024, the Chargers finished second and 4 games behind the Kansas City Chiefs. Now the Chiefs have had a stranglehold on that division for some time now, so catching them in the first season may have been a daydream. However, in both games, they kept it within a single TD-point margin losing 17-10 their first outing and 19-17 in the rematch. So if you’re the Chargers, this is one of the main reasons you hire a guy such as Jim Harbaugh. He’s considered one of the top coaches of his era, you want him to not only be able to beat good teams, but you also want him to win the one-score games.
To be fair to Harbaugh, the Chargers did sweep their division rival Denver Broncos and both were one-score games. Yet, they lost to the playoff-caliber Steelers by 10, the Cardinals who didn’t make the playoffs by 2, lost to the Ravens by 7, and got blown out by the Buccaneers. Both of those teams were playoff teams. Winning in the regular season is great, but falling short in the playoffs is a tough pill to swallow. Luckily for Harbaugh, it’s only year one.
Then, of course, there’s the Justin Herbert aspect of it. Harbaugh was brought in presumably to get Justin Herbert over the hump. What did Harbaugh accomplish with the QB they expect to lead the franchise. While it may seem that Herbert took a step back this season statistically, he made progress in learning how to win football games. Herbert’s passing yards per game might have dipped but he took care of the football a little better, although he’s done a decent job of that over his career. He’d go from 20 TDs and 7 INTs in 2023 to 23 TDS and 3 INTs in 2024. His average yards per game dipped from 241 to 220, but the entire league featured a run-heavy shift this season. Where Harbaugh’s impression showed up the most, is in the win column.
Just as it’s too early to call the Los Angeles Chargers a success, it’s too early to call them a failure as well. They’re a work in progress and year 2 will be the best deciding factor. It’ll be a bumpy road early on but there was a ton of progress this season. If the Los Angeles Chargers can get a playmaker opposite of Ladd McConkey, solid tight end play, and a RB who can catch passes out of the backfield, we might see a completely different Justin Herbert. Year one might not have ended as Chargers fans had hoped, but there has to be excitement for the future.
