Somehow, the Denver Broncos losing by 50 points to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 is no longer the worst loss of the 2023 NFL Season. Leave it to the Los Angeles Chargers to continue to be the biggest embarrassment of the NFL. We don't need to recount what happened when the then 0-2 Broncos traveled to Miami in Week 3.
It was one of the worst defensive performances in NFL history. Yes, in NFL history. It was painful to watch, and I think after so long, Broncos fans kept the game on just to see how bad it could get. Well, it was a 70-20 game, and the worst loss in team history. Denver gave up 350 yards on the ground and 376 yards through the air.
It also included a whopping 10 touchdowns allowed by the defense. Yeah, it was bad and is still mentioned months later. Well, the Denver Broncos no longer have the worst loss of the 2023 NFL Season. The Los Angeles Chargers said "hold my beer" and somehow found a way to lose in a more embarrassing fashion.
During Thursday Night Football that kicked off Week 15 of the 2023 NFL Season, the Chargers limped into Las Vegas and somehow allowed the Raiders' inept offense to score 63 points. Led by a bad rookie QB in Aidan O'Connell, the Raiders were just toying with the Chargers, who clearly quit on their head coach, Brandon Staley.
Halftime rolled around, and the Chargers had dug themselves into a 42-point deficit. LA managed to score 21 points in the second half, but so did the Raiders. The Raiders ended up winning by a score of 63-21, and it was clearly the worst loss of Staley's era.
It was much worse than the Broncos' loss to the Dolphins for a couple of reasons. Firstly, this game was in primetime, so it had a huge audience. The Chargers and Raiders were on a national stage, as every TNF game is like that. Secondly, it was a divisional game, which is always a bit more charged up than non-divisional contests.
How about a third reason? Well, it's not like the Chargers were competing against prime Tom Brady. No, they were going up against an inefficient rookie QB in Aidan O'Connell, who was actually wrapped up in reports this week that he was going to be benched.
Chargers' HC Brandon Staley was on his way out anyway, and it's clear that his players simply quit on him. They had nothing to play for coming into the game, but to lose in this fashion is just inexcusable. I would have understood if it was a 28-17 type of game, or literally any other score that doesn't amount to a 42-point loss.
Safe to say that this was the worst loss of the 2023 NFL Season.