They're 0-2 following a pair of soul-crushing, last-second losses. But this isn't a repeat drama for the Chargers, according to head coach Anthony Lynn.
"We talked about that a little bit in our team meeting," Lynn said this week, per ESPN's Eric D. Williams. "Some people say, 'Same old Chargers.' It's not the same old Chargers. We lost a couple of close games. We have 14 games left. We'll see. We'll see at the end."
The first two games of the season for Los Angeles have boiled down to the final, glaring seconds, with newbie kicker Younghoe Koo having a chance to tie Denver in Week 1 and take the lead over Miami last Sunday. In both cases, the undrafted rookie booter missed, leaving the Bolts down and out heading into Week 3.
The team's fate certainly feels like a carbon-copy meltdown from campaigns past, but it's not just Koo. The Chargers have struggled to generate a balanced offense. While the rest of the surging AFC West blasts victims with the run, Los Angeles is averaging merely 54 rushing yards per game on the ground, second worst league-wide.
"I've always been a coach who takes whatever the defense gives you," Lynn said. "But I do believe at some point, you're gonna have to run the football to win.
"And the running game will travel, in all types of weather. You can't always pass the ball. We do have to get the running game better."
Lynn has been a ground-game proponent for years, so expect this year's Chargers to toil on toward a balanced attack. The early results have been rough, but the first-year coach is correct: This season is still in its infancy. There's plenty of time to rewrite the script.