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In 2025, the Los Angeles Chargers put together a second straight 11-6 mark in as many regular seasons with Jim Harbaugh at the helm, but the Bolts had an alarmingly quick and ugly exit from the postseason when they dropped a 16-3 decision to the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots. However, despite the sour and abrupt ending, the Chargers discovered multiple young talents last season that have the ability to serve as franchise cornerstones.
Omarion Hampton and Oronde Gadsden II are two such examples, while Kimani Vidal was the silver lining to Hampton’s seven-game absence due to an ankle injury by providing glimpses of talent befitting a No. 1 back. With Hampton fully healthy, Vidal is a high-end No. 2 back, and he’s likely to only get better with prudent offseason signing Keaton Mitchell, who boasts game-breaking speed, right below him on the depth chart.
Ditto for Gadsden, who’ll now have versatile veteran David Njoku in the tight-end room to push him and add to an impressive array of targets for Justin Herbert that also includes the explosive receiver trio of Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris. Herbert also got more quality protection up front with the signing of veteran center Tyler Biadasz, while a quality defense added veteran run-stuffer Dalvin Tomlinson up front and saw Khalil Mack postpone retirement for at least another season following an injury-shortened 2025 campaign.
2026 Los Angeles Chargers Super Bowl Odds
Given their track record thus far under Harbaugh, it’s not surprising to learn the Chargers are in the top 10 in the Super Bowl Winner leaderboard. Los Angeles currently sports the eighth-shortest odds to win it all, but the teams in front of them all have a good-to-excellent arguments to profile where they are as well. That group includes the Rams at the very top of the heap and the defending champion Seahawks as well, but just as important, four other AFC contenders in the Bills, Ravens, Patriots and Chiefs. Nevertheless, as we saw last season, even juggernauts like Kansas City can be made human by injuries, while the Bills and Ravens have plenty to prove while adjusting to new head coaches after the dismissal of the only ones they’d played for during their tenures with the team. As such, a loaded Bolts squad with a quarterback in its prime and a top-notch coaching staff certainly has the ability to go all the way and makes for a very appealing value bet in this market.
Bet: Yes
2026 Los Angeles Chargers AFC Championship Odds
We’re going into a series of “Yes” scenarios here and continue with the Chargers’ AFC Winner odds, which are only the fifth shortest in the market as training camp begins. Los Angeles once again slots in behind the Chiefs, Patriots, Bills and Ravens in this scenario, but as already noted in the Super Bowl Winner market discussion, each of those teams are far from infallible despite their perennial contender status. Herbert has the ability to play on a level equal to the four quarterbacks of those teams, and although there are other obstacles — the Texans and Broncos being the most prominent — the Bolts have the talent on either side of the ball to merit consideration as a value option in this market as well.
Bet: Yes
2026 Los Angeles Chargers AFC West Odds
The Chargers check in second in the AFC West leaderboard, notably ahead of the Broncos despite Denver’s success last season and behind the Chiefs, who oddsmakers have immediately restored their faith in despite the fact Patrick Mahomes is coming off a significant injury and the team was already floundering last season even when Mahomes was available. I’m not sure Denver necessarily merits longer odds than Los Angeles, but the Bolts remain a very solid division winner pick given their talent.
Bet: Yes
2026 Los Angeles Chargers Win Total Odds
Given my belief in the Chargers being capable of winning everything from the AFC West title to the Super Bowl, I’m very much in the camp of the Over on the modest total of 9.5 wins. Los Angeles draws the Cardinals and Raiders to start off the season before a very challenging near two-month stretch that includes road games against the Bills, Seahawks, Chiefs, Rams and Ravens. However, the Bolts will then get to face the Jets, Raiders and Dolphins down the stretch, and it bears noting they’re 9-3 in the division over Harbaugh’s first two seasons, including 5-1 lasts season. While it won’t be easy, I see the Chargers getting to double-digit wins for the third straight season.
Bet: Over
2026 Los Angeles Chargers To Make The Playoffs Odds
The Chargers are heavy favorites to make the postseason, and with good reason. While the AFC has plenty of daunting opponents, Los Angeles has a strong chance of getting into the postseason yet again as long as Herbert and Hampton remain healthy and if the likes of Gadsden, Johnston and Harris take the next step forward in their development. It’s too expensive to take, however.
Bet: No
2026 Los Angeles Chargers MVP Award Odds & Contenders
- Justin Herbert
- Omarion Hampton
- Ladd McConkey
Herbert is a perennial MVP candidate and deservedly so, considering he’s averaged 4,136.7 passing yards, 27.2 passing touchdowns and 285.8 rushing yards per season thus far in his career. The 2020 first-round pick’s passing numbers have gone done in recent seasons under multiple offensive coordinators as the Bolts have focused on running a more balanced attack, but with a play caller as creative as Mike McDaniel now in his headset and a rich array of offensive weapons, Herbert could certainly generate MVP-worthy numbers.
Hampton is a longer-shot candidate as a running back, but if the second-year pro lives up to the significant potential he flashed during an injury-shortened rookie campaign, he could be capable of producing 1,500+ total scrimmage yards in this McDaniel-led offense. Hampton averaged 81.9 total yards per contest over his nine games last season, but that sample included two games where logged under 25 snaps from scrimmage. After a full offseason and in a highly creative offensive scheme, Hampton should be in store for a breakout season.
McConkey took a step back in his second season after producing a 82-1,149-7 line as a rookie in 2024. The Georgia product still generated 66 receptions for 789 yards and six touchdowns in 2025, and like Herbert and Hampton, he could very well see a boost in production in McDaniel’s scheme while serving as a sort of Tyreek Hill-Jaylen Waddle hybrid. Nevertheless, given the competition leaguewide at his position alone — to say nothing of quarterbacks and running backs — McConkey isn’t the most realistic of MVP candidates.
Bet: Justin Herbert
2026 Los Angeles Chargers Schedule
- Week 1 – vs. Arizona, 4:25 p.m., CBS
- Week 2 – vs. Las Vegas, 4:05 p.m. – CBS
- Week 3 – at Buffalo, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 4 – at Seattle, 4:25 p.m. – CBS
- Week 5 – vs. Denver, 4:05 p.m. – CBS
- Week 6 – at Kansas City, 4:25 p.m. – CBS
- Week 7 – BYE
- Week 8 – at LA Rams, 4:05 p.m. – FOX
- Week 9 – vs. Houston, 4:05 p.m. – CBS
- Week 10 – at Baltimore, 8:15 p.m. (MNF) – ESPN
- Week 11 – vs. NY Jets, 4:05 p.m. – FOX
- Week 12 – vs. New England, 8:20 p.m. (SNF) – NBC
- Week 13 – at Tampa Bay, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 14 – at Las Vegas, 4:05 p.m. – CBS
- Week 15 – vs. San Francisco, 8:15 p.m. (TNF) – APVO
- Week 16 – at Miami, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 17 – vs. Kansas City, TBD
- Week 18 – at Denver, TBD
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