Chargers vs. Bills: Week 3 Put the New Coordinators Under the Microscope

The Los Angeles Chargers' 24-16 loss to Buffalo in Week 3 produced two very different stories about the team's new coordinators.

On defense, Chris O'Leary's unit forced five turnovers against Josh Allen and kept one of the NFL's most explosive offenses off the scoreboard for much of the afternoon. On offense, Mike McDaniel's group again struggled to turn opportunities into points, leaving Justin Herbert and the Chargers at 0-3.

That contrast has intensified a national debate that began before the season: Are the Chargers simply experiencing the growing pains that come with new coordinators, or are the early-season problems evidence that something is fundamentally wrong?

Few analysts have pushed that question harder than Nick Wright.

Before the Buffalo game, Wright was already challenging the idea that Herbert deserved more time before facing significant criticism.

Following the Chargers' Week 2 loss to Arizona, Wright argued that Herbert had run out of excuses and described his 2026 numbers as “indefensibly bad.” He also said, “There is no argument that he is anywhere close to elite,” while questioning the assumption that Herbert's previous reputation should continue to carry as much weight as his recent production.

That criticism is important in the context of the new offense because McDaniel was not hired simply to install another system. The expectation surrounding the hire was that the former Dolphins coach could maximize Herbert's physical ability and create an offense that looked substantially different from what Los Angeles had produced previously.

Wright specifically attacked that premise.

Discussing the Chargers after two games, he sarcastically described the preseason expectation for McDaniel as the arrival of a coach who would unleash Herbert, saying McDaniel was “Bill Walsh with a fancier watch and cooler glasses.” Wright then argued that the offense had become too complicated and said the Chargers should “simplify it.”

Those comments came before Buffalo.

The Bills game did not exactly disprove his argument.

The Chargers moved the ball well enough to finish with 348 yards, but production between the 20s was not the problem. Finishing drives was.

Los Angeles scored a touchdown on its first takeaway, then added a field goal after another interception. But the next three Buffalo turnovers produced zero Chargers points. The defense repeatedly gave the offense opportunities to take control, and the offense could not capitalize.

Herbert finished 20-of-34 for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His late interception also ended a promising fourth-quarter possession.

Afterward, Herbert did not attempt to deflect responsibility.

“Wasn't good enough,” Herbert said. “The defense played so well, forced so many turnovers and the offense didn't help them out. We don't feel good about it, and it starts with me.”

That admission makes the debate more complicated.

The Chargers' problems are not solely Herbert's fault. Protection, receiver separation, execution and the transition into McDaniel's offense all matter. But Wright's central argument is that those explanations cannot indefinitely shield the quarterback from scrutiny.

And Week 3 supplied more evidence for both sides.

There is a legitimate adjustment argument.

Los Angeles changed offensive coordinators during the offseason, and McDaniel brought an offense built around motion, timing, spacing and pre-snap manipulation. Herbert is being asked to operate in a structure that looks different from the offenses he has previously played in.

Wright himself acknowledged the broader league-wide reality: the Chargers have two new coordinators, and coaches increasingly have to produce quickly. He noted that even teams with established quarterbacks can look offensively disjointed when a new coordinator arrives.

That is the strongest case for patience.

But the counterargument is that the Chargers cannot use “new system” indefinitely when the team is losing games.

Through three weeks, Los Angeles has scored just 44 points. The offense has not consistently converted scoring opportunities, and the McDaniel-Herbert partnership has yet to resemble the pairing that generated so much offseason optimism.

The question is no longer whether the offense will look different in September than it might in November.

The question is how quickly it has to improve.

The defensive side of the ball provides a useful counterpoint to the offensive criticism.

O'Leary entered the season with an especially difficult assignment after replacing Jesse Minter, whose Chargers defense had established a strong identity. Early struggles were therefore understandable.

But Buffalo represented a significant step forward.

The Chargers intercepted Allen twice and forced five total turnovers. The defense created short fields and repeatedly gave the offense opportunities to seize control.

That does not mean O'Leary has solved everything.

Buffalo's running game eventually became the decisive factor. James Cook rushed for 154 yards, including a huge fourth-quarter surge, as the Bills took control late. NFL.com's Week 3 analysis identified Buffalo's rushing attack as a major reason the Chargers were unable to finish the game.

Still, there was a recognizable defensive identity: pressure, aggression and takeaways.

That makes O'Leary's development look different from McDaniel's at this early stage.

The most reasonable reading of Week 3 may be that both coordinators are still adapting, but the evidence of progress is stronger on defense than offense.

O'Leary's defense went into Buffalo and created five turnovers against Josh Allen. It eventually gave up the run and surrendered the lead, but the unit demonstrated that it can disrupt an elite offense.

McDaniel's offense, meanwhile, was handed five turnovers and still scored only 16 points.

That does not prove Wright is right that McDaniel's system is too complicated, nor does it prove that the coordinator and quarterback are incapable of making the partnership work.

But it does explain why Wright's criticism has gained traction.

Before the season, the expectation was that McDaniel would help unlock Herbert. After three games, the Chargers are still waiting to see that version of the offense.

And Herbert knows the clock is ticking.

“I've got to play better and allow our offense to score more points,” he said after the loss. “It starts with me.”

For a Chargers team that entered the season with expectations far greater than an 0-3 record, Week 3 therefore created an unusual situation: the defense may be beginning to look like it is learning its new coordinator, while the offense still looks like it is learning itself.

The coming weeks will determine whether that is simply an early-season installation issue—or whether Wright and the other critics have identified a deeper problem with the Chargers' new direction.