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The Los Angeles Chargers took part in the game of the weekend on Sunday, the first of the 2023-24 NFL season. Unfortunately for them and their fans, however, they were on the wrong side of the result.
After they were last seen on the field blowing a 27-point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs last season, the Chargers opened their 2023 campaign by losing to the Miami Dolphins at home by a score of 36-34.
Making matters worse for the Chargers, though, is that the loss was a historic one, as teams in the same statistical position that they were in against the Dolphins had been 110-0 since the year 2000. Now, thanks to the Chargers, that stat is 110-1.
Since 2000, teams that rushed for more than 200 yards, allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards, did not turn the ball over and won the turnover margin by at least two were 110-0. Before Sunday. [via The Athletic]
In total, the Chargers rushed for 234 yards against Miami — Pro Bowler Austin Ekeler had 117 yards and a touchdown, while backup Joshua Kelley also had 91 yards and a score.
This certainly isn’t anything new for the organization, which has earned a reputation over the years as being a team that finds remarkable ways to lose games — with their last two games against the Jags and Dolphins simply being the most recent examples. Entire articles have been written about their infamous losses, in fact.
The Chargers will look to nab their first win of the season when they take on the Tenessee Titans in Nashville on Sunday, September 17. Luckily for Los Angeles, the Kansas City Chiefs, who have been dominating their division for the last half-decade-plus, also lost their Week 1 matchup, meaning they haven’t yet lost any ground to the defending Super Bowl champions.
As for the high-flying Miami Dolphins, they’ll look to build off of the momentum from their epic win against the Chargers when they take on the New England Patriots in a Sunday Night Football matchup next weekend.