Los Angeles Chargers 2024 schedule: Home and road opponents and more on season ahead (2024)

Who were the biggest winners and losers of the NFL schedule release? Jeff Howe has you covered.

Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL will come against the team with which he got his first coaching job when the Los Angeles Chargers host the rival Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1.

Harbaugh’s Chargers will play in prime time three times — including the marquee Harbaugh Bowl matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on “Monday Night Football” in Week 12 — but the league will ease the Chargers into the national spotlight with the first one not coming until Week 7. That’s another Monday night game, this time on the road against the Arizona Cardinals as part of one of the NFL’s Monday doubleheaders. (Apologies to the Harbaugh family, the Ravens play that night as well in the earlier game.) The Chargers game that night will be an ESPN+ broadcast.

should we REALLY make our schedule release video in the sims?

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— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 16, 2024

The Chargers will also be under the lights in Week 14 for a Sunday night road matchup at the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Their first showdown with Patrick Mahomes’ squad comes at home in Week 4, just ahead of the Chargers’ early-season bye. For the second straight season, the Chargers’ week off comes in Week 5.

Here’s a look at the full slate:

Week 1 keys to victory

Establish the Jim Harbaugh brand of football. That will be the priority in this season opener against the Raiders, where Harbaugh got his coaching start as a quarterbacks coach in 2002. Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz have talked often about the identity they want to cultivate in LA: tough, physical, violent. The first game against the team’s longtime rival will set the tone. Have Harbaugh and Hortiz done enough in their first offseason together — in roster and culture building — to bring that identity to the field?

Must-watch game: vs. Baltimore Ravens, Week 12

The Harbaugh Bowl is going to be appointment viewing. Jim and John Harbaugh last coached against each other in Super Bowl XLVII. John’s Ravens beat Jim’s San Francisco 49ers. Jim Harbaugh has been pretty open about how this loss motivated his return to the NFL. He won a national title with Michigan in 2023, but he is still one-upped by his brother at the pro level. As Jim said at his introductory news conference in February: “I only have so many sands left in the hourglass and I want another shot. I want another shot to be simply known as world champions.” The family rivalry gets rekindled this season. There is another layer, too: The Chargers have many former Ravens in their organization, from Hortiz (who spent 26 years in Baltimore) to offensive coordinator Greg Roman, to players Hayden Hurst and Bradley Bozeman and Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins.

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Toughest stretch: Weeks 11-14

This stretch includes the latter two of three straight home games, but Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals and Lamar Jackson’s Ravens will be a tough test for any defense. Both teams are legitimate AFC contenders. The Chargers then follow up that emotional Monday night game against Baltimore with a short weekand cross-country travel for a 10 a.m. PT body clock game against the Atlanta Falcons. That’s tough no matter the opponent. And then it’s back on the road against the Chiefs and a potentially cold Sunday night game in Arrowhead. If the Chargers are going to contend for the playoffs in Harbaugh’s first season, this is the stretch they’ll need to survive.

Game that has gotten tougher: at Atlanta Falcons, Week 13

Will Kirk Cousins return to pre-injury form from last season and put the Falcons over the top in the NFC South? Perhaps. Or maybe Michael Penix Jr. will find his way into the lineup by then. Either way, this is less about the Falcons as an opponent and more about the timing of this one. As mentioned above, it’s a short week after a Monday night game and will require cross-country travel to play an early body-clock game. The only solace is that this comes after a stretch of three straight home games (the Chargers will spend nearly the whole month of November in Los Angeles). But the Chargers can’t love the timing of this one and if the Falcons have found their answer at quarterback, this is a game that suddenly looks much tougher.

One game the Chargers can’t afford to lose: at Carolina Panthers, Week 2

Yes, this game is on the road and a cross-country flight away. But the Panthers have owned the league’s worst record the last two seasons. These are not games a team that has any hopes of contending can lose. The Chargers’ opening stretch against the Raiders, Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers presents an opportunity to get off to a strong start before the Week 4 meeting with the Chiefs. But an early loss to Carolina would be tough to swallow and the type of game that could come back to haunt the Chargers at the end of the season.

Best offense the Chargers will face: Ravens (Week 12)

Last season, the Ravens finished ninth in offensive EPA per play, according to TruMedia, and fourth in offensive DVOA, according to FTN Fantasy. And they added running back Derrick Henry in free agency. How do you defend a Jackson-Henry zone read? Good luck with that. Honorable mention to the Chiefs and Mahomes, especially after they added the fastest receiver in the draft in Xavier Worthy.

Best defense the Chargers will face: Cleveland Browns (Week 9)

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz groomed the Browns defense into perhaps the best unit in football last season. They led the league in defensive EPA per play and ranked second in DVOA. Their front, led by reigning defensive player of the year Myles Garrett, was vicious last season The Browns only added to that group by signing defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to a four-year deal in free agency.

Predicted record: 10-7

I am buying into the Harbaugh impact. There are some weak spots on the roster. Trying to turn a team completely over in one offseason is pretty much impossible. But I think the Chargers have enough to win some games and make the playoffs in 2024. It certainly helps having a franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert. The 49ers went 6-10 in 2010. Harbaugh took over in 2011. The 49ers went 13-3 and made it to the NFC Championship Game. I am not predicting that significant of a turnaround. But I think a wild-card berth and 10 wins is realistic. Harbaugh turns around programs. It’s just what he does.

Predicted AFC West finish: Second

1. Chiefs, 2. Chargers, 3. Broncos, 4. Raiders

The Chiefs stay kings until someone in the AFC West can dethrone them. Andy Reid has won eight straight division titles. I think he makes it a ninth. The Broncos and Raiders have questions at quarterback. What can Sean Payton get out of Bo Nix? I see the Chargers finishing comfortably in second place.

(Photo of Jim and John Harbaugh: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Daniel Popper is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Chargers. He previously covered the Jacksonville Jaguars for The Athletic after following the New York Jets for the New York Daily News, where he spent three years writing, reporting and podcasting about local pro sports. Follow Daniel on Twitter @danielrpopper