Chargers OC Mike McDaniel drops ‘humble pie’ confession after Week 1 embarrassment

Mike McDaniel waited months to unveil his vision for the Los Angeles Chargers’ offense.

Week 1 looked nothing like it.

After the Chargers’ stunning 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, McDaniel admitted Wednesday that his first game as Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator was a major reality check.

“You have a lot of visions coming to a new team and working on something for months — and the vision never looked like that,” McDaniel said, via ESPN’s Kris Rhim. “It was a case of humble pie. Didn’t feel good to anyone.”

Now the Chargers need to respond against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The frustrating part about Week 1 was how promising everything initially looked. Los Angeles marched 77 yards on eight plays for a touchdown on its opening possession, with Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey immediately clicking. Then everything unraveled.

A fumble by Omarion Hampton and a turnover on downs inside Arizona’s 10-yard line destroyed two promising first-half possessions. Los Angeles finished 0-for-3 on fourth down, while Herbert threw an interception during a disastrous fourth quarter. The Chargers can’t afford another performance like that Sunday.

Las Vegas arrives at SoFi Stadium 1-0 after beating Miami 27-13, while Los Angeles suddenly faces the possibility of opening McDaniel’s tenure 0-2.

Herbert has also enjoyed plenty of recent success against the Raiders. Los Angeles has won four consecutive meetings against its AFC West rival, including both matchups last season.

McDaniel called Week 1 “humble pie.”

Week 2 needs to look much closer to the offensive vision everyone expected when he arrived in Los Angeles.