Happy New Year Chargers fans. We’ve officially made it through another calendar year of Chargers football and 2026 is shaping up to be a potentially big year for the Bolts. They’ll be looking to make a playoff run early in the year and then the team will have a lot of decisions to make to gear up for the 2026 NFL season. Here are three things Chargers fans should be hoping for in the new year.

It’s about time to add a playoff win to Justin Herbert’s resume and give the franchise its first since the 2018 team took down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens before heading to Foxboro and getting embarrassed by Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Chargers have a real chance to bring playoff success back to the fan base this year and there’s a strong likelihood they’ll have to go on the road to face Drake Maye and the New England Patriots. If the Bolts want to start 2026 the right way and show fans that this era is truly different, winning a playoff game on the road would be a massive first step. This team is as primed as it’s been in years to finally get it done.

The football gods played some cruel tricks on the Chargers in 2025. What was supposed to be a season built on improvement and better offensive line play turned into a nightmare with both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt going down with season-ending injuries. Two top-five players at their positions were lost almost immediately and the Chargers were forced to adjust from the very beginning. To their credit, they persevered about as well as anyone could have expected. But if this team wants to take the next step in 2026, the bookend tackles have to be back. Herbert carried this team long enough in 2025. Give him elite protection again and the Chargers have a real argument to be one of the best teams in the AFC and maybe the entire league.

This is nothing personal against Bradley Bozeman, but as the starting center for the Chargers it simply hasn’t been good enough. What felt like a bad dream in 2024 turned into a full-blown nightmare in 2025 and it has to be addressed heading into next season. Whether it’s through the draft or free agency, the Chargers need to make sure Bozeman is not the long-term answer at center in 2026. He’ll likely finish out this playoff run as the starter, but beyond that fans should be hoping for a real upgrade to pair with the return of Slater and Alt. If not, Herbert will once again spend too much time trying to escape pressure right up the middle.

Aside from a happy and healthy new year for everyone, these are a few of the things Chargers fans should be hoping for as the team looks to make 2026 one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory. The foundation is there under Jim Harbaugh. Now it’s time to see if they can make a run and keep building toward something bigger.