When the Los Angeles Chargers left Arrowhead Stadium on October 18 with a sixth straight loss, it wasn’t clear Mike McDaniel would make it through the bye week.

He did, and he’s still the team’s offensive coordinator, but the reprieve feels less like a vote of confidence than a stay of execution as the winless Chargers prepare for a Week 8 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

The bye was the natural window for Jim Harbaugh to make a change, and teams that plan to fire a coordinator usually do it early in that week.

The fact that it passed quietly suggests the organization wants to give McDaniel at least one more chance to prove that the system it brought in with so much fanfare this offseason can still work with Justin Herbert under center.

McDaniel arrived with enormous expectations. Los Angeles was coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons, and pairing one of the league’s most inventive play-callers with a quarterback of Herbert’s caliber was supposed to lift the Chargers from a playoff team to a real AFC contender.

Instead, the Bolts own the league’s lowest-scoring offense, Herbert has already thrown eight interceptions, and the losses have put Los Angeles at the top of the draft order rather than anywhere near the top of the AFC West.

In fairness to McDaniel, he has been working with a battered roster. Injuries along the offensive line, including to Rashawn Slater, Tyler Biadasz, and Trey Pipkins III, have forced constant reshuffling up front.

Ladd McConkey, Herbert’s most dependable target, has dealt with rib and foot ailments and, most recently, a concussion against Kansas City.

The defense, meanwhile, ranks eighth in EPA per play and sits among the league leaders in takeaways. That only sharpens the scrutiny on the side of the ball that has failed to hold up its end.

Some help may finally be arriving. Scott Matlock and Branson Taylor have been activated from the injured reserve, and a healthier, more stable line could give McDaniel the consistency up front that has been missing all season.

The Rams, however, enter with momentum after a 35-21 road win over the Raiders, improving their record to 3-4.

A lopsided loss in a game with local bragging rights on the line would be hard for Harbaugh to explain away, no matter how many players are on the injury report.

The stakes go well beyond one coordinator. General manager Joe Hortiz has publicly signaled that the Chargers will stand pat ahead of the November 10 trade deadline, even as other teams call about the roster.

A seventh loss would invite louder questions about whether this season is worth salvaging at all, and about who should carry the blame if it isn’t.

McDaniel has bought himself one more week, and what he does with it against the Rams may determine whether he gets another.