# Los Angeles Chargers 2026 Season Playbook

Same building as the Rams, a different Sunday. The slate runs hard through the AFC West and the pregame map tilts west toward the beach cities. Here is the season against the city.

**Team:** Los Angeles Chargers (NFL)  
**Home:** SoFi Stadium, Inglewood  
**Official site:** https://www.chargers.com  
**Updated:** 2026-08-11T12:30:00-07:00

## Current Outlook

### Win Total

- **Nate Tice:** 11
- **Hayden Winks:** 11
- **Market line:** O/U 9.5

Both analysts sit a game and a half above the market. We do not run our own model.

Source: [Yahoo Sports, Football 301](https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/football-301-predicts-win-totals-for-the-afc-west-where-the-broncos-look-to-maintain-chargers-look-to-take-a-big-step-and-patrick-mahomes-gets-help-223009118.html), read 2026-08-11.

### AFC West Outlook

- **Broncos:** 11 / 12
- **Chargers:** 11 / 11
- **Chiefs:** 9 / 9
- **Raiders:** 6 / 5

Tice and Winks read the division as a two-team race between Denver and Los Angeles.

Source: [Yahoo Sports, Football 301](https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/football-301-predicts-win-totals-for-the-afc-west-where-the-broncos-look-to-maintain-chargers-look-to-take-a-big-step-and-patrick-mahomes-gets-help-223009118.html), read 2026-08-11.

### Next Three at SoFi

- **Thu Aug 20:** 49ers, preseason
- **Thu Aug 27:** Rams, crosstown
- **Sun Sep 13:** Cardinals, opener

Ten home dates in Inglewood across preseason and the regular season.

Source: [Los Angeles Chargers](https://www.chargers.com/schedule/), read 2026-08-11.

## Schedule

| Wk | Date | Site | Opponent | Venue | TV | The Plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| P1 | Thu 08/13 · 5:00 PM PT | AWAY | [Houston Texans](https://www.houstontexans.com) | NRG Stadium | CBS2 LA | A road opener is a television night. Nobody needs to drive anywhere. |
| P2 | Thu 08/20 · 7:00 PM PT | HOME | [San Francisco 49ers](https://www.49ers.com) | SoFi Stadium | CBS2 LA | First football in Inglewood this year. Cheapest seats of the season and a half empty concourse. |
| P3 | Thu 08/27 · 7:00 PM PT | HOME | [Los Angeles Rams](https://www.therams.com) | SoFi Stadium | CBS2 LA | Both LA teams in the building they share. The only preseason night the whole city has a reason to show up. |
| 1 | Sun 09/13 · 1:25 PM PT | HOME | [Arizona Cardinals](https://www.azcardinals.com) | SoFi Stadium | CBS | Home opener, early kick. Eat in Inglewood first, the lots fill by noon. |
| 2 | Sun 09/20 · 1:05 PM PT | HOME | [Las Vegas Raiders](https://www.raiders.com) | SoFi Stadium | CBS | Raiders travel. Expect a split building and a long exit. |
| 3 | Sun 09/27 · 10:00 AM PT | AWAY | [Buffalo Bills](https://www.buffalobills.com) | Highmark Stadium | FOX | Ten in the morning. This is a bar game, not a couch game. |
| 4 | Sun 10/04 · 1:25 PM PT | AWAY | [Seattle Seahawks](https://www.seahawks.com) | Lumen Field | CBS | Loudest road building in the conference. Worth the volume on a good system. |
| 5 | Sun 10/11 · 1:05 PM PT | HOME | [Denver Broncos](https://www.denverbroncos.com) | SoFi Stadium | CBS | The other half of the two-team race, at home. Buy this one early. |
| 6 | Sun 10/18 · 1:25 PM PT | AWAY | [Kansas City Chiefs](https://www.chiefs.com) | Arrowhead Stadium | CBS | Arrowhead in October. Find a room with sound and commit to the afternoon. |
| 7 | Bye week | BYE | No game |  |  | Use it. Go do something on the list below while the building is dark. |
| 8 | Sun 11/01 · 1:05 PM PT | AWAY | [Los Angeles Rams](https://www.therams.com) | SoFi Stadium | FOX | An away game you can take the train to. Same building, Rams are the home side. |
| 9 | Sun 11/08 · 1:05 PM PT | HOME | [Houston Texans](https://www.houstontexans.com) | SoFi Stadium | CBS | Rematch of the preseason opener, this one for real. |
| 10 | Mon 11/16 · 5:15 PM PT | AWAY | [Baltimore Ravens](https://www.baltimoreravens.com) | M&T Bank Stadium | ESPN | Monday night on the east coast, so it starts at a civilised hour here. |
| 11 | Sun 11/22 · 1:05 PM PT | HOME | [New York Jets](https://www.newyorkjets.com) | SoFi Stadium | FOX | Quiet home date. Easiest ticket on the card if you have been waiting. |
| 12 | Sun 11/29 · 5:20 PM PT | HOME | [New England Patriots](https://www.patriots.com) | SoFi Stadium | NBC | Sunday night, Thanksgiving weekend. The full pregame is the point here. |
| 13 | Sun 12/06 · 10:00 AM PT | AWAY | [Tampa Bay Buccaneers](https://www.buccaneers.com) | Raymond James Stadium | CBS | Another ten o clock kick. Breakfast game. |
| 14 | Sun 12/13 · 1:05 PM PT | AWAY | [Las Vegas Raiders](https://www.raiders.com) | Allegiant Stadium | CBS | Close enough to drive, far enough that you should decide early. |
| 15 | Thu 12/17 · 5:15 PM PT | HOME | [San Francisco 49ers](https://www.49ers.com) | SoFi Stadium | Prime Video | Thursday night in December. Leave early, the 405 does not care about kickoff. |
| 16 | Sun 12/27 · 10:00 AM PT | AWAY | [Miami Dolphins](https://www.miamidolphins.com) | Hard Rock Stadium | FOX | The Sunday after Christmas, at ten. Nothing to plan around. |
| 17 | Date to be set | HOME | [Kansas City Chiefs](https://www.chiefs.com) | SoFi Stadium |  | Flexed. Assume it moves and do not book anything around it yet. |
| 18 | Date to be set | AWAY | [Denver Broncos](https://www.denverbroncos.com) | Empower Field at Mile High |  | Flexed, and probably the one that decides something. |

## Where to Eat

Chargers Sundays pull from the South Bay as much as from Inglewood, and the two routes rarely cross. If you are coming up the 405, stage in El Segundo rather than fighting Century Boulevard.

- **Stuff I Eat** (Inglewood) Vegan soul food on Market Street, a short hop from the stadium. _Order ahead, the counter is one deep._
- **Woody's Bar-B-Que** (South LA) Hickory smoke and window service, no seating, which is a feature when you are eating in the car. _Cash friendly._
- **[Playa Provisions](https://www.curationsla.com/restaurants/playa-provisions)** (Playa del Rey) Four concepts under one roof with the ocean two blocks away. _The beach detour before the 405 sets up._

## Where to Shop

The 405 to Inglewood corridor hides more retail than it looks like from the freeway. Most of it closes before a fourth quarter would end.

- **[Westfield Culver City](https://www.curationsla.com/businesses/malik-books)** (Culver City) Indoor and air conditioned, and home to Malik Books, which is worth the stop on its own.
- **Market Street** (Inglewood) Records, resale and murals across six walkable blocks. _Closes early on Sundays._
- **Downtown El Segundo** (El Segundo) A Main Street that still functions like one. Hardware store, bookshop, three coffee bars.

## What to Do

El Segundo and the beach cities are twenty minutes out and empty on game mornings. The Hollywood Park campus runs a calendar of its own.

- **Automobile Driving Museum** (El Segundo) A collection where they actually let you sit in the cars. _Sunday rides, check the schedule._
- **Manhattan Beach Pier** (Manhattan Beach) Genuinely empty at nine in the morning. Walk it, then head inland ahead of traffic. _Year round._
- **[Comedy & Magic Club](https://www.curationsla.com/venues/the-comedy-magic-club)** (Hermosa Beach) A Hermosa room with a Sunday lineup that has run for decades. _The night before._
- **[Kia Forum](https://www.curationsla.com/venues/kia-forum)** (Inglewood) The fall concert calendar runs straight through football season on the same off ramp. _Check dates before you buy parking._
- **[Intuit Dome](https://www.curationsla.com/venues/intuit-dome)** (Inglewood) Clippers open in October, so doubleheader days are a real thing here now. _October to January._

## Away-Game Rooms

Eight road games, several of them at ten in the morning. These rooms open early and turn the sound on.

- **Tom's Watch Bar** (Downtown) Every screen, every game, sound on the one that matters.
- **The Standing Room** (Redondo Beach) A counter in the back of a liquor store. Burgers, screens, no seats.
- **Hudson House** (Redondo Beach) Dark room, long bar, early kick crowd that knows each other.

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Schedule verified against https://www.chargers.com.
Cite as: CurationsLA, "Los Angeles Chargers 2026 Season Playbook", https://www.curationsla.com/sports/chargers
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Structured data: https://www.curationsla.com/sports/chargers/dataset.json