Welcome back to the Chargers Mailbag!

We'll run a Mailbag each week during the regular season. Send in submissions for the Mailbag on Twitter @EricLSmith or by email at eric.smith@chargers.nfl.com.

Off we go...

OK, so we are 0-5, not ideal. However, we play Chiefs this weekend. I would love nothing more than beating the Chiefs in KC. Am I the only one or has team morale been lost at this point? (Anthony via Twitter)

I can assure you that team morale has not been lost.

To put in plainly, the 0-5 record is not what anyone would have expected at this point in the schedule.

But while players may be frustrated or disappointed with that mark, they certainly haven't given up.

That has been evident by the fight and effort shown in recent games, even if the Bolts haven't come out on the winning side.

The Chargers were down 27-6 late in the third quarter on the road in Seattle. Plenty of teams would have packed it in and looked ahead to next week.

The Bolts nearly came back and won against the defending Super Bowl champs.

The Chargers then showed the same grit against Denver last week, rallying from a seven-point halftime deficit with perhaps their best quarter of the entire season in the third frame.

No, the Chargers don't have a win yet. But the team continues to fight and put everything into each game.

That shows me that team morale is still high.

With everything that's happened over the past few weeks, I'd love to know if the coaching staff would have approached preseason differently, knowing what they know now about this team? (Anna via Twitter)

Yeah, Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh addressed this on the Monday after the season opener.

The Bolts were coming off a 26-14 loss to the Cardinals when Harbaugh noted his team "made some preseason-type of mistakes" against Arizona.

Chargers starters did play in two preseason games, getting a series against the 49ers before playing two drives against the Rams.

Harbaugh had a different tone when talking about the preseason a month ago.

"Now in retrospect, wish I would have played our guys a little bit more in the preseason getting those game-like reps," Harbaugh said.

At this point in the season, however, I don't think a lack of preseason action is what has ailed the Bolts.

The offense, which ranks 30th in success rate (41.3 percent) and last in EPA per play (-0.162) hasn't lived up to expectations. Special teams has been inconsistent, too.

The defense is playing well — ranking seventh in EPA per play at -0.043 — but has been put behind the 8-ball too many times with short fields.

The Chargers need to play complementary football for a full 60 minutes in order to have a chance Sunday against the Chiefs, who are 4-0 and look like their usual selves.

How did Travis Burke look in his first NFL start? (Grant via email)

Pretty good.

Harbaugh had this quote Monday when talking about the Chargers offensive line, which included four rookies, three of which were making their first NFL start.

"I thought they did really well in protection and the run game," Harbaugh said. "There were a few [miscues] here or there in protection toward the end. But for the vast majority of the game, it was really good."

That sentiment applies to Travis Burke in pass protection, as he was beaten cleanly for a sack.

But the most positive development was Burke's skillset in the run game.

According to Pro Football Focus, Burke earned a run-blocking grade of 84.2 against Denver, the highest mark of any offensive linemen from both teams in that game.

That mark was also the sixth-best grade for run blocking of any tackle in Week 5.

Burke flashed plenty of potential in training camp and the preseason, but it's awesome to see a young player translate that ability to game action.

Burke, a 2026 fourth-round pick, earned high praise from NFL Network's Brian Baldinger earlier this week.

I'm excited to see how Burke fares going forward, especially with elite defenders from the Chiefs, Rams, Texans and Ravens coming up on the schedule.