INGLEWOOD, CA – Preseason often isn’t a precursor of what’s to come during the regular season. For the Los Angeles Chargers offense, they hope it’s not.
The Chargers first-team offense was stuck in neutral for its first two offensive series of the preseason.
Next the first-team unit went three-and-out against the San Francisco 49ers last week before they were subbed out. The unit got off to an even worse start in a 20-18 preseason loss on Thursday, Aug. 28, against its stadium-mate, the Los Angeles Rams.
Quarberback Justin Herbert botched a shotgun snap facing second-and-1 on his second play of the day. It was recovered by Rams undrafted rookie safety Nick Andersen.
Perhaps most alarming, the turnover came against a Rams defense made up of reserves and players battling for roster spots. Not exactly the rousing start for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, the ex-Miami Dolphins head coach who was a hot commodity during the offseason’s coaching hiring cycle.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Los Angeles Chargers
They lack for nothing – awesome logo, awesome colors, versatility among myriad combinations. The Bolts even have the requisite self-awareness when something isn’t working – for example, the gold “Charger Power” jersey and pants combo introduced last season that was widely panned on social media … on a day when the Chargers got panned by the Colts on the scoreboard. This year, they’ll break out the “Charger Power” jersey but with white pants – and in Week 13 against the Bucs in what could be the uniform matchup of the year. Conversely, as great as the powder blues are, I’d vote for the all-navy “Super Chargers” retros to become the version most heavily used in this rotation.
(Kirby Lee, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Los Angeles Chargers
They lack for nothing – awesome logo, awesome colors, versatility among myriad combinations. The Bolts even have the requisite self-awareness when something isn’t working – for example, the gold “Charger Power” jersey and pants combo introduced last season that was widely panned on social media … on a day when the Chargers got panned by the Colts on the scoreboard. This year, they’ll break out the “Charger Power” jersey but with white pants – and in Week 13 against the Bucs in what could be the uniform matchup of the year. Conversely, as great as the powder blues are, I’d vote for the all-navy “Super Chargers” retros to become the version most heavily used in this rotation.
(Kirby Lee, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Las Vegas Raiders
The Silver and Black’s look is as intimidating – yet glorious – as any in pro sports. (Hopefully new saccharine QBs Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins can embrace the sinister ethos … though the Autumn Wind apparently doesn’t blow inside a desert’s indoor stadium.) Yet while maybe some embrace the Raiders’ simplicity and lack of variety, I’ll continue to vouch for the introduction of predominantly black pants and a dark helmet with the color scheming reversed.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
New Orleans Saints
Perhaps the only way to tie them more closely to the Big Easy would be adopting a purple, green, and gold color palette while perching a king cake baby from the timeless fleur-de-lis symbol – and, yes, we’re still advocating for such an imaginative alternative. Regardless, the Saints almost invariably look good in Old Gold and black – last year’s monochromatic all-black choice (helmet included) offsetting the (unnecessary?) return of gold jerseys. The alternate white helmets resembling vanilla ice cream were a nice touch.
(Matthew Hinton, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Philadelphia Eagles
They’ll never look better than they do in those glorious Kelly Green throwbacks that took Nike so long to replicate. But the Eagles have never had such a sustained run of success, including both of their Super Bowl triumphs, since switching to Midnight Green in 1996. It’s all good … save maybe for those seemingly extraneous black helmets.
(Bill Streicher, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Pittsburgh Steelers
Black and gold scream Pittsburgh. The Steelmark symbol used by the American Iron and Steel Institute with the trio of hypocycloids is uniquely identifiable to both the city and team – the Steelers the only one to place their logo on just one side of the helmet. The Dark Knight alternates and occasionally worn Steel Curtain throwbacks are also on point. What typically isn’t are the team’s attempts to reach way back into its history.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Seattle Seahawks
Maybe most folks wouldn’t have a team that was slightly better than the Rams in 2025 ranked slightly ahead of them. But the look the Seahawks have predominantly used since 2012 has always been original – from its nods to the “12s” fan base, unique color choice and the subtle feather patterning, including a tapered effect down the crown’s centerline. A logo inspired by regional Native American art remains one of the league’s best. Add in the throwbacks, which are perhaps the equal of their 1976 expansion siblings in Tampa, and the “High-Decibel Zone” installment from the “Rivalries” collection (worn in last year’s Week 16 classic vs. the Rams) – I can’t tell you how many Seahawks players told me they love them – and you have the makings of a quality closet.
(Steven Bisig, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Los Angeles Rams
The first team to adorn its helmets, the Rams initially painting those famous horns on their headgear back in 1948, they return to a deserved spot in the top 10. Earlier this year, they fixed the mistakes from their 2020 overhaul – mothballing the bone uniforms and gradient elements, which had included the numbers on the home jerseys. Earlier this month, they rolled out two alternate looks which hearken back to their early days in L.A. both from the 1950s and ‘60s. A team expected to be awesome in 2026 will certainly look the part.
(Harry How, Getty Images)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Long underrated and underappreciated, the Creamsicle throwbacks are again a regular aspect of the rotation – the team already announcing that the original roadies brought back last year to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season will return in 2026. Yet the Bucs don’t get enough credit for the swashbuckling vibe they introduced in 1997 and again in 2020 upon Brady’s arrival – following a six-season mistake in an exaggerated version of it. The red and pewter tones, ship and pirate flag logos plus skull and crossbones all tie in nicely with the port city’s history – and have been worn for both of the franchise’s Super Bowl victories.
(Kim Klement Neitzel, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Cincinnati Bengals
Moving to the tiger-striped helmet in 1981 was viewed as a bold decision at the time, but it’s held up quite well. This will be the fifth season the Bengals have the even better all-white uni at their disposal, the team set to take that alternate to the next level with a “White Bengal Stripe” effect at Paycor Stadium against the Ravens on New Year’s Eve.
(Sam Greene/The Enquirer, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Minnesota Vikings
Elegantly simple while incorporating aspects of Norse culture with the helmet horn and longboat-esque striping. The icy “Winter Warrior” uniforms even have Nordic knots and shields woven into the neckline. Skol, baby.
(Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
New York Jets
Just when it seemed they’d finally found their way with the 2024 reversion to their glorious 1980s look, the Jets seem to be slowly veering off course again. The manhole effect of the “Rivalries” uniforms was a fashion fail, especially for a team perpetually stuck in the gutter. The recently announced “White Out” model for 2026 gives the NYJ a fifth helmet option, four of them essentially varying color combos around their primary logo. But if you’re going to go to that much trouble, why not go the Texans’ route and at least come up with one truly inspired departure given the potential of the source material?
(Wendell Cruz, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Indianapolis Colts
One of the NFL’s iconic looks – one the Colts should probably tinker with less … namely, those “Indiana Nights” alternates, though a blue helmet with a white version of the familiar horseshoe logo would go a long way toward remediating them.
(Robert Goddin, Robert Goddin-Imagn Images)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Dallas Cowboys
One of the NFL’s iconic looks – one the Cowboys should probably tinker with less … aside from the red helmet stripe they add annually to celebrate the league’s “Salute to Service” program.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Houston Texans
Credit the league’s youngest franchise, entering its 25th season, for creating its own tradition – adhering to its primary bullhead logo, which dually resembles Texas’ state flag, throughout its history. The primary jerseys were modified slightly in 2024 but remain clean. And, like them or not, give the Texans credit for taking big swings for their alternates, also released in 2024, which were crafted with a great deal of fan feedback. Now, if only they could be the Oilers for a week or two every season, but fat chance the division rival Titans ever permit that.
(Troy Taormina, Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Tennessee Titans
After years of overly busy designs that included a flaming logo and details hinting at a Roman centurion, the Titans basically reverted to their Oilers roots in March. The color scheme nearly duplicates the franchise’s final years in Houston, though the new unis are officially “Titans Blue.” No oil derrick, but the current logo has been nicely simplified. The “6-String Stripe” an ode to the musicians − guitarists in particular − who have helped make the Music City what it is, is a deft element. Still, a shame the Oilers unis are once again mothballed – and, worse, not sent back to Houston, where they truly belong.
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Detroit Lions
The recently added shoulder stripes nicely conjure a Mustang for a team owned by the Ford family. Coach Dan Campbell also got the Lions to re-embrace black alternates, the “Motor City Muscle” look debuting in 2024. Honolulu Blue and silver may not exactly scream king of the jungle, but it is distinctive.
(Junfu Han, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Kansas City Chiefs
They’re fine – basic uniforms topped with an arrowhead logo featuring their city’s interlocking initials. The Chiefs are the only team in the NFL that continue to resist sporting some kind of secondary uniform, though they’re scheduled to get their “Rivalries” next year.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
(Jeff Hanisch, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Chicago Bears
Traditional. Historic. Staid. Meh. But stick with what you know given Da Bears’ struggles to do captivating alternates – as we await this year’s “Rivalries” model with bated breath.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Baltimore Ravens
They know how to do a reveal party, rolling out their slightly modified uniforms in front of 6,000 adoring fans at a Maryland concert venue in April. A heavier emphasis recently on purple and gold nicely brightens an inherently dreary look. That said, the new “Darkness Helmet,” now topping the all-black alternates, should be a showstopper when they’re first worn at M&T Bank Stadium, likely in prime time.
(Peter Casey, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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Predicting the final record for every NFL team in 2026
New York Giants
We know you don’t want to mimic the Jets, but going back to the 1980s uniforms full-time is also the right call for Big Blue … which still doesn’t have any blue, the helmet notwithstanding, in its regular roadies.
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Predicting the final record for every NFL team in 2026
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Jacksonville Jaguars
They’ve done far more tinkering through the years than the Panthers, the Jags’ 1995 expansion brethren. Ironically, while Jacksonville’s contemporary uniforms are forgettable if inoffensive stylistically, their best option is their “Prowler” throwback. Adding some light jaguar spots to the striping might jazz up the current variant.
(Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
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Carolina Panthers
The sweetest part of uniforms that largely appear trapped in their 1990s roots? The panther head logo designed to resemble the combined states of North and South Carolina. The easiest way to rectify this? Pivot to the niftier alternate black matte helmet permanently with stripped-down modifications of the team’s black and “Panther Blue” jerseys. Phase out the silver.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Denver Broncos
Good luck finding anyone within the Mile High City’s limits or elsewhere who wouldn’t advocate to turn back the clock to the “Orange Crush” or John Elway-era look with the horse rearing back inside the former “D” logo. There are some decent Easter eggs in the new version – “5280” and summit markers appear throughout – but the Broncos are among several franchises (Patriots? Eagles? Seahawks?) where the uniform apex didn’t align with organization’s best teams.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Atlanta Falcons
Like the Browns and several other clubs, they’ve managed to stray too far toward uninspired and not close enough to classically understated. Worse, the Falcons had an opportunity this year to rectify so many past wrongs – namely, following the Jets route and re-instituting their 1980s (or even glorious 1960s debut/throwback … or black 1990s Deion Sanders-era version) unis and scrapping their recent iterations. Alas.
(Todd Kirkland, Getty Images)
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New England Patriots
They look best in their “Pat Patriot” throwbacks. The best alternative? Last year’s “Nor’Easter” look from the “Rivalries” collection. Maybe it’s hard to leave the “Flying Elvis” era that dates to the 1990s and has basically been used in 11 of the team’s record 12 Super Bowl appearances. But it’s time to fully move beyond the Tom Brady epoch … particularly given how Drake Maye and Co., uh, looked in Super Bowl 60.
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Which NFL team has the best uniforms? The definitive ranking
Washington Commanders
A franchise that’s been in constant flux since leaving its former, racist identity behind in 2020 can’t necessarily be faulted for trying to retain the more appropriate ties to its past – namely last year’s throwbacks, which approximated what the Joe Gibbs-era teams wore (the Commanders logo replacing the one from the Super Bowl glory days of the 1980s and ‘90s). Those throwbacks have now been effectively adopted as the Commanders’ primary unis … though the team just couldn’t help but introduced a “Hail Raiser” alternate that added a spear into the current “W” logo meant to, per the team, symbolize “the top fighters, the front lines, those leading a mission who are unafraid to step into the fire.” OK, stop. And stop – to listen to the Native Americans on that front.
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Cleveland Browns
From the horrid color combination to the boring presentation – Cleveland still the only NFL team without a helmet logo – to the DUDE Wipes sponsorship of their monochrome brown “Alpha Dawg” alternates, which land somewhere between self-deprecating and humiliating, they remain anchored to the bottom of this list. And their secondary Dawg Pound logo remains underutilized − further proof of their cultural aversion to wins.
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But the Chargers’ first-team offense made some amends against the Rams. On the second play of the second series, Herbert tossed a perfect pass to Quentin Johnston that hit the wide receiver in stride for a 65-yard touchdown.
According to Next Gen Stats, the football traveled an air distance of 57.6 yards. The touchdown represented the Chargers’ first-team offense’s lone touchdown of the preseason as the starters checked out after the explosive play.
“I think it’s always about conviction. When you get into this offense, you have these new techniques you’ve been working on for how long against our defense,” Chargers fullback Alec Ingold, who played under McDaniel for four seasons with the Dolphins, told USA TODAY Sports. “You want to get out and you want to be perfect. You want to you want to do it to the best of your ability.
“I think guys care, but eventually it’s a game too. I think that the response that Justin had and (Quentin) had is exactly what you can expect to see. It’s not always going to be perfect, but the response to it and being able to stick to it and trust it, we’ll get those explosive plays and we’ll get stuff ironed out.”
A pre-snap motion by tight end David Njoku followed by a designed route concept fooled the Rams defense and left Johnston streaking down the middle of the field open. It was the type of play architecture that’s earned McDaniel a reputation as an offensive guru and the Chargers’ most significant offseason acquisition.
“Probably the most exciting thing is hiring Mike McDaniel,” Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said during the CBS Los Angeles broadcast. “He was the white whale out there in terms of offensive coordinators. To get him, it’s been awesome.”
McDaniel was the mastermind behind a Dolphins club that led the NFL in total offense in 2023 and helped quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finish with an NFL-high 4,624 passing yards before things went south the past two seasons. The Chargers are hopeful McDaniel can upgrade a Chargers offense that finished 12th in rushing yards per game, 18th in passing yards per contest and 29th in red zone efficiency a year ago.
Was Johnston’s long touchdown reception a glimpse of what the Chargers offense can be under the new offensive coordinator? The players believe so.
“You got a little taste of it when (Quentin) hit the big shot (Thursday),” Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey said.
