The Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Arizona Cardinals in their season opener on Sunday. The Chargers looked lost and unmotivated most of the game. Their timing was off, pre-snap penalties highlighted issues with the continuity overall on offense and the defense seemed to be unable to get home rushing the passer or get a stop when they needed one.

The loss was ugly and it was against a perceived inferior opponent. Los Angeles has one week to figure it out it and sharpen up as they face their division rivals the Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday. With how the team looked against the Cardinals, it is absolutely time to panic.

Here's the truth about Sunday's loss to Arizona, it was ugly and the coaching staff should shoulder a massive amount of the blame. Is it unfair to panic after one game? In this case? No, not at all.

The Chargers start a stretch of historic difficulty when they take the field against their division rivals on Sunday. What's worse, falling to 0-2, is a non-starter. Only 12 percent of playoff teams have started the season 0-2 in the modern 17-game format. If the Jim Harbaugh can't right the ship and take down the Raiders, the Chargers season may be near over before it really started.

What went wrong?

What didn't go wrong may be a better place to start when reviewing the loss to the Cardinals. The offense was anemic outside of the first drive and appeared incapable of finding their footing once Ladd McConkey was knocked out of the game. Special teams gave up a blocked punt on their own goal line, leading to a quick touchdown and ended up completely flipping the game. The defense struggled to get off the field or create any pressure in the passing game.

One of the biggest questions of the day continues to be what the Chargers are doing at left guard. Jim Harbuagh named Kayode Awosika the starter earlier in the week but had previously mentioned the idea of platooning him with Trey Pipkins throughout the game. The platooning idea seemed more like a throw away idea but Harbaugh was dead serious.

The Chargers, in an NFL game, rotated two players at left guard. Awosika by every advanced stat and grade was significantly better than Pipkins against the Cardinals. Could they both play guard, sure, Awosika has more history doing it though. By why are they rotating them? What is the insistence on playing them both? Awosika finished the day as the Chargers fourth highest PFF graded offensive player and the top graded pass blocker, both of which were far ahead of Pipkins.

The Chargers had pre-snap penalties, protection communication issues all while attempting to run a brand-new offense. The Chargers need to find their way to consistent play quickly with the schedule that lies ahead.

Normally, a week one loss would not be a time to panic, but, with how that performance looked and the questions still facing the team ahead of a ridiculously challenging schedule, it is warranted to a degree. The Chargers offense was humming on the first drive and had a handful of moments throughout the game that were positive, Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert need to find that rhythm with Ladd McConkey potentially out.

The Chargers offense fell off dramatically when Ladd McConkey exited the game in the third quarter due to injury. The Chargers may not have him against the Raiders, they need to find a better balance and find it fast.

The performance against the Cardinals was what it felt like to everyone, an absolute disaster. The Chargers have the talent to shake it off but they do not have much time to do it.