Chargers have more questions than answers now

The Chargers are 4-3 after 38-24 home loss to the Colts.

Here are five takeaways from Week 7.

1. Turn the page

It’s a good thing the Chargers are on a short week.

Because the Bolts are going to want to move on from Sunday’s showing rather quickly.

“It wasn’t our best in any phase,” said Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.

“Not the way we wanted it to go,” Justin Herbert added.

Daiyan Henley said: “Just wasn’t good enough.”

The Chargers suffered their third loss in four games and also dropped out of first place in the AFC West for the first time all season.

Everyone was at fault in this one, as the defense allowed 38 points and 401 yards of offense at home, including nine plays of at least 15 yards.

“We gave up [nearly] 40 points in our own stadium,” Derwin James, Jr. said.

Offensively, the unit didn’t find the end zone until the third quarter and managed just 54 rushing yards.

And special teams played a part, too, as an 81-yard kickoff return by Indianapolis swung momentum back in their favor after the Chargers had cut the deficit to 13 points early in the third quarter.

“Ain’t no way around it,” Khalil Mack said. “Played like [crap].”

The Bolts will now hope to turn the page on short week as they host the Vikings in Week 8 on Thursday Night Football.

Harbaugh said he’s anticipating a better showing in primetime.

“It wasn’t our best day,” Harbaugh said. “But do I have confidence in my team? Yes. Do I believe they’re fighting? Yeah.”

He later added: “From our whole team — courage, fight, our guys never quit. That’s the big thing I takeaway. We’re going to need all that fight, all that courage on a short week.”

Minnesota is 3-3 after Sunday’s home loss to Philadelphia.

“Watch it, learn from it and we’re onto the next week,” Herbert said.

Mack added: “It’s always great when you can get back on the field after a game like this because you want to forget it as fast as you can.”

2. Gadsden shines in career day

Count Oronde Gadsden as a bright spot in the Week 7 loss.

The Chargers rookie finished with seven catches for 164 yards and a score. His yardage is the fourth-most by a Chargers tight end in a game in franchise history.

“He did an incredible job and found ways to get open. When we needed him most, he stepped up big time,” Herbert said. “He’s done a great job all year and he’s going to continue to make big plays for us.”

Gadsden posted the first 100-yard game of his career and added his first NFL touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard catch.

“I was just doing the best I could and doing as hard as I try to practice every day. Just try to emulate that back into the game,” Gadsden said. “I wasn’t really looking how many yards, how many stats, how many touchdowns, any of that, throughout the game. I was just trying to win.”

Gadsden became the first Chargers tight end in franchise history with 100 receiving yards since 2019 when Hunter Henry hit the mark against the Steelers.

He is also the fourth rookie tight end in the Super Bowl era to record 150 reception yards in a game.

The 2025 fifth-round pick, who was inactive for the first two games of the year, credited Herbert with helping him develop as a rookie.

“Whenever he’s been looking for me, I’ve been a reliable target for him,” Gadsden said. “I just want to be able to be a guy he could trust and when throws the ball, I’ll be able to catch it. That’s really it.

“Yards after catch, I want to be able to catch the ball whenever he throws it to me. That’s what my dad taught me when I was young,” Gadsden added. “Any receiving position, you just have to catch the ball first and let everything else come after. Just working on catching the ball any time it comes to me, no matter who’s throwing it.”