Chargers' overlooked schedule detail could be key to Jim Harbaugh's 2nd season

Of the many notable details about the 2025 NFL schedule for the Los Angeles Chargers, one has been a little lost in the fray. 

While most focus on that trip to Brazil or the historic start of the season that features three straight AFC West games, the bye week itself has gone unnoticed. 

It shouldn’t—the bye week falls in Week 12 after two straight seasons of the widely-disliked early breaks that happened in Week 5. 

Call it a little bit of notable modern history, too, as pointed out by Omar Narvarro of Chargers.com: “It's the latest bye week the team has had since the 2019 season when they were also off in Week 12 and only the second time they've had this week off since 1990.”

Last year during Jim Harbaugh’s debut as coach, the Chargers lost two in a row before the bye and battled with injury issues to key names like Justin Herbert before and after it. 

And in that ill-fated 2023 campaign, the Chargers came out of the Week 5 bye and dropped two straight games to fall to 2-4, losing to the rival Kansas City Chiefs in the process. 

This year, the Chargers wrap up an 11-game sprint with a road trip to Jacksonville, then get a week off before returning to action in Week 13, a homestand against the Las Vegas Raiders. 

It feels like a perfect spot for the break, too, as the Chargers then wrap up the season against Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston and Denver.