With a 26-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers are out to a 2-0 start. Pundits will point to that coming against lackluster competition, but the Chargers can only play the teams on their schedule. 

It has been quite some time since the team got off to a start like that and that length of time would probably surprise most fans. In fact, it has been over a decade. 

The last time the Chargers started 2-0 was the 2012 season. That year, they defeated the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans to start the season. Philip Rivers was the quarterback, Norv Turner was the head coach. 

Welp, @CoachJim4UM has the @chargers 2-0 for the first time in 12 years.

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 15, 2024

The team lost in Week 3, getting throttled by the Atlanta Falcons, 27-3. Despite the strong start to that season, the Chargers finished 7-9 and ended up parting ways with Turner, hiring Mike McCoy as the new head coach in the offseason. 

Chargers hope the 2024 team is different

The 2012 season might have been the last time the Chargers won their first two games of the season, but it wasn't a successful year. While it was the end of a head coach's tenure, this is just the beginning for Jim Harbaugh. 

His brand of football is very evident. How many games could the Chargers have won in recent years in which Justin Herbert passed for just 130 yards while turning the ball over twice? Not many, if any. 

Instead, Harbaugh's dedication to the running game, the idea by the front office to sign J.K. Dobbins, and a stout defense have been what has led to this start... and what will pace this team. 

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