LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Chargers‘ 2025 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Wednesday.
After finishing 11-5 in coach Jim Harbaugh’s first season, the Chargers enter this season with added expectations of a deep postseason run. They have the league’s 12th-hardest schedule based on last season’s opponent win percentage (.522), a significant shift from last year, when L.A. went into the season with the league’s fifth-easiest schedule.
Perhaps the most anticipated matchup for the Chargers comes in Week 17 when L.A. faces the Houston Texans in a playoff rematch from last season. The Chargers were embarrassed in that 32-12 wild card loss in what was the worst game of Justin Herbert‘s career.
Here’s what’s in store for the Chargers:
Chargers 2025 regular-season schedule
Week 1: Sept. 5 vs. Kansas City Chiefs (in Brazil)
Week 2: Sept. 15 at Las Vegas Raiders (MNF)
Week 3: Sept. 21 vs Denver Broncos
Week 4: Sept. 28 at New York Giants
Week 5: Oct. 5 vs. Washington Commanders
Week 6: Oct. 12 at Miami Dolphins
Week 7: Oct. 19 vs Indianapolis Colts
Week 8: Oct. 23 vs Minnesota Vikings (TNF)
Week 9: Nov. 2 at Tennessee Titans
Week 10: Nov. 9 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (SNF)
Week 11: Nov. 16 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 12: Nov. 23 BYE
Week 13: Nov. 30 vs Raiders
Week 14: Dec. 8 vs Philadelphia Eagles (MNF)
Week 15: Dec.14 at Chiefs
Week 16: Dec. 21 at Dallas Cowboys
Week 17: Dec. 28 vs. Houston Texans*
Week 18: Jan. 4 at Broncos*
*Dates for Weeks 17 and 18 are to be determined
Strength of schedule: .522 (t-11h hardest)
Over/Under: 9.5 wins
Biggest takeaway
Get comfortable with long plane rides. The Chargers will travel a league-leading 37,086 miles next season, almost 3,000 miles more than the next team. Last season, Harbaugh tried to combat the Chargers mileage and jet lag by leaving on Friday instead of Saturday for cross-country games and the team stayed in Charlotte after a game against the Panthers to remain on the East Coast before their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Harbaugh and the Chargers staff will likely have to get creative again with travel.
Circle this date
Oct. 12. The Dolphins and the Chargers don’t have a proper rivalry by historic NFL standards, where teams have faced off many times in the playoffs or in the same division. But quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert, selected fifth and sixth respectively in the 2020 NFL draft, will be linked for the rest of their careers. Both fan bases pay close attention to the other quarterback, hoping for bragging rights about which team made the right choice. Herbert and the Chargers are 1-2 against the Dolphins.
Key stretch
Weeks 14-17. This is perhaps the toughest stretch on the Chargers’ schedule, when they face three playoff teams from last season and the Dallas Cowboys, who will have quarterback Dak Prescott back from a season-ending hamstring injury. This stretch comes near the end of the season when the Chargers could be fighting for playoff position and could determine whether this team is a contender, in a similar spot that they were last season, or worse.
Bold prediction
The Chargers won’t win double-digit games. Of the Chargers’ 11 wins last season, just three came over teams with a winning record, with two wins over the Denver Broncos and one over Cincinnati. L.A. benefited mightily from the NFL’s fifth easiest schedule in 2024 and beat up on some of the league’s worst teams in Harbaugh’s first season. With a much harder schedule and the Chargers roster not much improved from last season, it will be an uphill battle for this team to hit double-digit wins in 2025.
Is this the year the Chargers finally solve the Chiefs?
A change of scenery in Brazil may be what helps the Chargers finally beat the Chiefs, as nothing else has been effective. L.A. is 3-19 against the Chiefs since 2014, including seven straight losses. One caveat for the Chargers is that they play the Chiefs close; since drafting Herbert in 2020, seven of their nine games against the Chiefs have been decided by one score, but the Chargers are 1-6 in those seven games.
