Rams Host Winless Chargers in a Rare L.A. Meeting as Harbaugh Sticks With McDaniel

The 3-4 Rams are 6½-point favorites Sunday at SoFi Stadium against the NFL's only winless team, which spent its bye week dissecting the league's lowest-scoring offense.

By Herald Staff · Oct. 30, 2026, 5:30 PM ET

An empty football stadium seen from high in the stands at golden hour, with sunlight pouring through a sweeping translucent canopy roof onto green turf and rows of blue seats, and palm trees and the downtown Los Angeles skyline glowing in the distance. — The Rams and Chargers share SoFi Stadium in Inglewood but meet only once every four years. Sunday's game kicks off at 1:05 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles' two NFL teams share a stadium in Inglewood, but they rarely share a field. On Sunday they will, and the stakes are lopsided: the Rams (3-4) host the Chargers (0-6), the league's only winless team, at SoFi Stadium at 1:05 p.m. PT on Fox, with the Rams favored by 6½ points, according to the Associated Press.

The schedule puts the teams together only once every four years. This is just their third meeting since both moved to Los Angeles and their second since SoFi opened in 2020. The Chargers won the last one, 31-10, on Jan. 1, 2023, and the Rams lead the all-time series 7-6, the AP reported.

Matthew Stafford was not selling it as a rivalry. "It's a big town to cross," the Rams quarterback said, according to the AP. "I don't run into those guys too often, to be honest with you. I don't really want to make that drive. Nobody does." The Rams train in the western San Fernando Valley and the Chargers in El Segundo, more than 30 miles apart.

A Bye Week Spent on the Offense

The Chargers began the season hoping for a third straight playoff berth. Instead they are the NFL's lowest-scoring team, and they spent their bye week trying to figure out why. Entering Sunday, the Chargers rank last in the league in points per game (15.0), turnovers (15), EPA per play and offensive success rate, the team's website reported. Justin Herbert has been sacked 21 times.

Coach Jim Harbaugh had declined at the start of the bye to commit to keeping new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as the play-caller. On Wednesday he confirmed McDaniel will keep the job. "We're very confident in Mike, his talent, his work ethic, his ability. And continue to be," Harbaugh said.

McDaniel said he and Herbert watched film together for four hours over two days during the bye. "In this league, you have to produce results or there's going to be heat. I don't expect anything else," he said. Herbert defended his coordinator: "It's not his fault. It's our fault as an offense," he said, according to the team.

The defense has been the bright spot. Under new coordinator Chris O'Leary, the Chargers were tied for third in the league with 10 takeaways entering Week 7, though they have allowed an average of 123.8 rushing yards, the AP reported. Harbaugh hasn't lost seven straight games since he was the quarterback of the 2000 San Diego Chargers, who went 1-15.

Rams Can't Afford a Slip

The Rams opened the season as a Super Bowl favorite and are still below .500 heading into November. They have the league's most productive offense by yardage, and Stafford leads the NFL with 1,989 passing yards, ahead of last season's pace when he led the league for the first time. Puka Nacua has caught at least five passes in 15 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL, according to the AP. Last week Kyren Williams and Blake Corum each ran for 90-plus yards in a 35-21 win over the Raiders.

Sean McVay isn't reading much into the record. "I really couldn't care less what the record says," he said, according to the AP. "I see a team that's really good. They've had a chance to win a lot of these games."

The matchup to watch, the AP noted, is Chargers edge rushers Khalil Mack and Akheem Mesidor against Rams tackles Warren McClendon Jr. and Alaric Jackson.

Kickers, Snappers and the Injury Report

Special teams have been a season-long headache for the Rams, and they reached back to old faces this week. On Wednesday they signed kicker Joshua Karty and long snapper Jake McQuaide, both former Rams, plus special teams linebacker Jon Rhattigan to the practice squad, the Los Angeles Times reported. Long snapper Joe Cardona hurt his ankle against the Raiders. Veteran Brandon McManus, the third kicker the Rams have used this season, made five extra points in Las Vegas, and NFL.com reported the Rams are exploring a two-kicker setup, with Karty handling kickoffs. McVay said he wasn't ready to answer whether that would happen.

Cardona, center Coleman Shelton (hip) and tight end Colby Parkinson (rib) did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, and cornerback Trent McDuffie (groin) was limited, according to the teams' injury report. Edge rusher Myles Garrett, out since knee surgery after Week 1, will miss a seventh straight game, and McVay said he is week to week.

For the Chargers, safety Derwin James (hamstring), who hasn't played since Week 3, did not practice. Harbaugh said James had a setback and could go on injured reserve. Receiver Ladd McConkey, back from a concussion, was a full participant.

After Sunday, the Rams play at Washington on Nov. 8 and at Arizona on Nov. 15 before their Week 11 bye.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on the Associated Press, the Chargers, the Los Angeles Times and the news outlets linked above.