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...

At this point, what can the Chargers realistically do to turn this season around? (Joseph via Twitter)

Win a game.

I don't mean that sarcastically, either.

There's an old saying in football, and probably all of sports, that "winning cures all."

Now, one win isn't going to erase the first four losses of the season.

But sitting at 0-4, the Chargers need to know what it feels like to win a game and get some validation that all of the hard work they are putting in during the week can pay off.

Like most of you, I'm incredibly surprised with how the first month of the season has played out.

The Bolts have mostly looked out of sorts on offense and have been hampered by turnovers and penalties.

Chris O'Leary's unit, meanwhile, is playing well and is almost a Top 10 unit in terms of defensive EPA per play. (The Chargers defense is 11th at -0.024).

But special teams has been erratic at times, whether it's a missed kick here or a muffed punt there.

All in all, the Chargers need to begin winning games, but the only way to do that is to start playing complementary football.

That's been missing so far this season.

As we wrote here last week, getting to 2-4 at the bye would at least keep the Chargers in range to be competitive late in the season.

That would currently mean back-to-back wins heading into the bye week, which would obviously provide some momentum for November and December.

But the Bolts have to start by getting the first one right now.

That won't be easy against the AFC Wesr rival Broncos, who boast one of the league's deepest rosters and are looking to go on an October run of their own.

Give me a reason for hope, Eric. (Greg via email)

Hi! Have you met the 1992 Chargers?

That team remains the only one in NFL history to start a season 0-4 and then make the playoffs.

Those Bolts, who were led by Head Coach Bobby Ross in his first season at the helm, began the year with four straight losses before getting a win before a Week 6 bye,

The 1992 Bolts climbed to .500 at 4-4 before losing a game and then going on a heater with a seven-game win streak.

Perhaps the current Chargers can follow a similar script?

The 2026 Bolts have a bye in Week 7, but if Jim Harbaugh's team can somehow get to their own 4-5 record, then maybe a red-hot finish to the season is possible if the Chargers have found their way by then.

Now, I'm not saying this is realistic. But it at least provides a rare blueprint for what has happened just once before.

Do you think the Bolts are likely to make any big changes on special teams? (via Twitter)

No.

Perhaps the only change that might be coming is trying a different option at punt returner.

But the issue with that right now is that the backups to Derius Davis listed on the Chargers depth chart are Brenen Thompson and Ladd McConkey.

Both of them are currently banged up.

Thompson hasn't practiced in two weeks with a quad injury while McConkey is dealing with a the same foot injury that limited him in practice last week and also in Sunday's game in Seattle.