The Chargers will look to get their first win of the season on Sunday when they host their bitter rivals, the Raiders.
Los Angeles will look to capitalize on playing in front of its home crowd and taste victory after its underwhelming Week 1 outing against the Cardinals.
Many expected the Chargers to start the season 1-0. Instead, they got off on the wrong foot. With 15 games remaining after Week 2, Los Angeles still has a pivotal matchup on Sunday against the Raiders.
It's not just about getting into the win column. The Chargers also need to avoid falling to 0-2, a hole that history shows can be difficult to climb out of.
The Chargers have started the season 0-2 13 times in their history, and they've made the playoffs only twice. The last time Los
Angeles started 0-2 was in 2023; they finished 5-12 and missed the playoffs.
The 1992 and 2008 Chargers are the outliers here. Both those teams made the playoffs; however, they lost in the division round.
The other 11 times, the Chargers missed the playoffs outright. It's not a stretch to call Week 2 a 'must-win.' After Week 2, the Chargers face a gauntlet of a schedule that includes the Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, and Chiefs, to name a few, before their Week 7 bye.
The Chargers will have their hands full moving forward, and a win could go a long way.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers can't afford 0-2 start if history is any indication
