The Bolts are back on the road in Week 4.
The Chargers and Seahawks play Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle. Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m. (PT).
The Chargers-Seahawks betting line shows the Bolts are Week 4 underdogs.
1. Get the 1st one
The calendar has flipped to October, and the Chargers are still searching for their first win of the 2026 season.
As the Bolts get ready for a Week 4 date against the Seahawks, they believe that is on the way.
"We all just want to put a complete game together as an entire team," Joe Alt said.
He later added: "The mindset right now is getting better, honing in on the details and just putting that game together. We're chasing a win. It's whatever we can do to get a win."
Khalil Mack said: "We're working to get everything right for Sunday. The wins are on the way, we just have to go take them."
Getting that notch in the win column won't be easy against the Seahawks, who boast one of the NFL's most complete rosters.
"There's a reason they are the defending Super Bowl champions," Justin Herbert said.
Oh yes, Seattle also captured the Lombardi Trophy a season ago and have aspirations for another deep playoff run as they are off to a 2-1 start.
The Chargers, meanwhile, will look to take the first step of digging out of an 0-3 hole Sunday in Seattle.
"Every practice, every meeting is a chance to take advantage," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That's what everybody in the building is doing and striving for."
Cam Hart added: "Nobody wants to be at 0-3, but we still have 14 games left that are guaranteed. Just stay together, stay optimistic. At this point, when you're 0-3, we just worry about this week and this game. I think we've all adapted that [mindset]. Momentum is real. If we just get one, then we'll get this thing rolling."
2. Stout Seahawks defense
The Chargers offense came away frustrated after Sunday's loss in Buffalo, mostly about missed chances and opportunities.
The Bolts defense forced five turnovers but the offense only managed 10 points while being unable to come up clutch.
Chargers Offensive Coordinator Mike McDaniel said his unit is fully culpable for the current 0-3 start.
"There's things we've done in the past three games that is active participation in losing the game," McDaniel said. "And so, flat out, our jobs are to improve everything. ... I'm not living in hope. I'm living in reality."
A better offensive performance would be welcome, especially if it comes against a stout Seattle defense.
The Seahawks are downright dominant and lead the league in numerous categories against both the run and the pass.
"They do what they do and they do it really well," Herbert said.
Alt added: "There a complete unit. They play very well together and you can see that in a lot of small places. Very sound defense. It's going to be a challenge but it's going to be a fun challenge. We're ready to put together the best game plan we can, be confident and just attack it. Just play free."
Seattle has allowed just five explosive pass plays (15-plus yards) in three games, the fewest in the league.
The Seahawks also haven't allowed a rushing touchdown all season and rank first in defensive EPA on rushes (-0.371).
Overall, Seattle ranks third in defensive EPA per play (-0.118) behind Seahawks Head Coach Mike Macdonald, who was on Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh's staff at Michigan.
"Mike is a winner. Everywhere he goes, everything he's a part of, he elevates it," Harbaugh said. Tremendous football coach and person. Great guy and great coach. Winner all the way."
He later added of the defense: "Everything is connected with the coverages, the linebackers. You can see how connected the front is to the 'backers and the 'backers to the secondary. They play with a tremendous edge as well. It's impressive. Formidable task, Super Bowl champions. Deserve all of our focus and attention."
3. Keping tabs on JSN
Entering Week 4, Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL in receiving yards with 405.
He also leads the NFL in both targets (26), receptions (27) and touchdown catches (six).
And Smith-Njigba is also first among all offensive players with a 93.1 overall Pro Football Focus grade and is second in yards per reception (15.0) among palters with at least 25 targets.
Chargers Defensive Coordinator Chris O'Leary was asked this week what stands out about Seattle's offense. He didn't hesitate in his answer.
"JSN, immediately," O'Leary said.
Derwin James added: "We have to know where he's at all the time. He's a guy that can wreck the game."
While it will be an all-hands-on-deck approach to slowing down Smith-Njigba, keep an eye on how Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart fare against Smith-Njigba, who was the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
A season ago, Smith-Njigba tallied 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 scores. Through three games, he's on pace to best all of those marks.
This might be the best wide receiver the Chargers see all season.
"I played receiver in college, so I get excited talking about receivers," O'Leary said. "I think his feet are incredible. I think how he gets in and out of breaks, how he can go full speed and change directions, he can come back to the ball. It's awesome.
"He's very talented, he runs deep routes well, runs quick game well, runs rub routes, all of it," O'Leary added. "He's well-rounded, but I do think the acceleration and feet to get in and out, it's impressive."
Harbaugh added: "The way he attacks the ball, the play speed, drive phase, his spatial awareness and instincts. Really got all the tools."
4. Win the 4th quarter
The Chargers sit at 0-3, so it shouldn't be a surprise that their point differential of minus-32 is the third-worst in the league.
But if you dive into the numbers, there's one quarter that has hampered the Bolts so far this season.
The last one.
The Chargers have a fourth-quarter point differential of minus-30 so far, having been outscored 33-3 in the final stanza thus far.
All three phases have played a part in that deficit.
In Week 1, the Bolts trailed 16-14 after three quarters, only to have a blocked punt lead to s short Arizona touchdown drive.
In Week 2, the Chargers were down 17-14 before fumbling in Raiders territory.
And in Week 3, the defense allowed 14 fourth-quarter points after a valiant effort in the first three frames.
"The first three and a half quarters we were able to play solid football defensively, but ultimately it's about finishing the game and knowing the defense want to be," Mack said. "We have to be able to close games like that against teams like that."
Through three games, the Bolts ranked 31st in points allowed in the fourth quarter (11.0) and 32nd in points scored in the fourth quarter (3.0).
The offense kicked a field goal last week after not scoring in either of the fourth quarter in the first two games.
"I don't think we're far off at all. There's a lot of good on the tape," Alt said. "We get back and watch the tape and say, 'There's a lot of good here.' But we just have to finish.
"It's not like there's nothing going right. There's hope and it's going to click and just have to do it," Alt added.
Herbert said: "It's not making plays, now making throws that I need to."
The Bolts will be going against a Seahawks squad that has thrived late so far this season, ranking first in points scored (12.7) and tying for the fourth-fewest points allowed (3.0) in fourth quarters in 2026.
5. Ready for the noise
If all the above weren't enough to make this one of the toughest games on the schedule, we haven't even mentioned the raucous atmosphere yet.
The Chargers have practiced all week with crowd noise to try and mimic the noisy environment that is expected for Sunday.
"Last week with Buffalo and now with Seattle, we know it's going to be just as loud if not louder," Alt said. "We've had crowd noise in practice just trying to have it as loud as we possible can and just trying to get our communication as game-like as we can."
Some on the Chargers coaching staff have plenty of previous experience in Seattle.
Chargers Special Teams Coordinator Ryan Ficken went to Seattle four times when he was previously on Minnesota's staff.
Ficken said this week that special teams could be key in helping quiet the crowd.
"It's a hostile environment. That crowd gets into it but we have to make sure to take away that energy," Ficken said.
He later added: "You're not going to completely take it out, but you can neutralize it a little bit by having momentum swings and playing well and playing hard."
Harbaugh, of course, also has plenty of coaching experience in Seattle when he was with the 49ers. Harbaugh is 1-4 in his career, including the playoffs, on the road against the Seahawks.
"It's a tremendous place to play football," Harbaugh said. "You talk about magic happening in real time, there's just nothing that makes you feel more like a man than in there for a football game, in that environment and being able to execute and do your job and win.
"That opportunity, there's some like it, but it's at a level that's super good," Harbaugh added. "You're testing yourself. It's that kind of challenge you embrace."
