NFL Schedule Release Has Chargers Traveling Nearly 30K Miles…And That’s a Good Thing

So goes the woes of being a West Coast team in the NFL: The Los Angeles Chargers will travel a stunning amount on the NFL schedule next season. 

Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers will need to make four trips to the East Coast in 2026, racking up mileage and needing to overcome the hurdles of timezone-hopping in the process. 

No easy task for most teams. But…this is Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers. 

Based on the last few years, the Chargers probably laughed off the mileage counter ahead of the NFL schedule release. 

NFL miles traveled at schedule release hits Chargers

Things sound bad for the Chargers at first glance on the mileage front. 

Bill Speros of Bookies did the numbers on each team’s miles traveled in 2026 and came up with 24,816 for the Chargers, good for the seventh-most mileage in the NFL. 

But it’s not a big deal. 

Recall that these Chargers hopped 42 time zones last year, an NFL record. 

Recall that they made NFL history by traveling 37,086 miles last year. Thank the opener in Brazil and a staggering six East Coast games. 

What did the Chargers do? They nearly swept the AFC West before resting starters late in the year, rattling off an 11-6 record and making the playoffs. 

Even if all things had remained the same for the Chargers this offseason, the sheer easing of the jet lag and travel schedule would be a positive that’s hard to ignore. 

But all things didn't stay the same. 

The Chargers overhauled the roster in free agency and the draft, largely around the vision of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. He’s expected to provide a dramatic boost to the overall offense, never mind Justin Herbert’s apparent ceiling. 

That, projected onto an easier schedule through fewer travel hurdles, makes the outlook seem great.

There are a few things the NFL schedule release could do to really harm the outlook, barring a super-early bye week or multiple short weeks after primetime games that put them at a rest disadvantage. 

But overall? The outlook is good for Harbaugh’s Chargers on the schedule front, with international travel unlikely. And where there are some mileage concerns, there are counterweights, like a “road” game…at SoFi Stadium.

Not bad, overall, even if the numbers look big and it nets them a top-10 spot.

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