The 2011 season was the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

' 42nd in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and their 52nd overall. The team failed to improve on its 9–7 record from

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and finished in a three-way tie with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

for the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

division title, with an 8–8 record, but lost the tiebreaker to the Broncos and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season. For Norv Turner, this was his fifth season as the head coach of the Chargers. The Chargers had the 18th pick in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

Offseason

Coaching changes

On January 11, defensive coordinator Ron Rivera became the new head coach of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. That same day,

Rich Bisaccia Richard Bisaccia (born June 3, 1960) is an American football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego ...

was named the team's new special teams' coach, replacing

Steve Crosby Steven Kent Crosby (born July 3, 1950) is an American former professional football coach and player. He spent 33 years in the National Football League (NFL)—3 as a player, 4 as a scout and 26 as a coach. Crosby was named the NFL Special Teams ...

, whose contract was not renewed. Three days later (January 14), the team hired former

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

' defensive coordinator Greg Manusky to replace Rivera. Manusky previously served as the Chargers' linebackers coach from 2002 to 2006.

Arrivals

Departures

NFL Draft

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Draft notes

Preseason

Schedule

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Coming off their

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

woes in

, the Chargers allowed a 103-yard opening kickoff return to

Percy Harvin William Percival Harvin III (born May 28, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida, when the Gators won the BCS National Championship in 2006 and 2008, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings o ...

to start the season. Kicker Nate Kaeding suffered a season-ending injury on the play, and punter

Mike Scifres Michael T. Scifres (born October 8, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played the majority of his career with the San Diego Chargers and is included on the Cha ...

assumed place kicking responsibilities for the game. The Chargers outscored the Vikings 10–0 in the fourth quarter to come back and win the game, 24–17. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored three touchdowns, and Philip Rivers completed 33 of 48 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns. He was also intercepted twice. Scifres kicked a 40-yard field goal, the first of his NFL career, and kicked three PATs. With the win, the Chargers started their season out 1–0.

Week 2: at New England Patriots

With the loss, the Chargers fell to 1–1.

Week 3: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

With the win, the Chargers improved to 2–1.

Week 4: vs. Miami Dolphins

With the win, the Chargers improved to 3–1.

Week 5: at Denver Broncos

With the win, the Chargers went into their bye week at 4–1. The team also managed to get their best start after five games under head coach Norv Turner.

Week 7: at New York Jets

With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4–2.

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4–3.

Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers

With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4–4.

Week 10: vs. Oakland Raiders

Trying to snap a three-game losing streak, the Chargers stayed at home for a Week 10 AFC West duel with the

on Thursday night. San Diego struck first in the opening quarter with a 20-yard field goal from kicker

Nick Novak Nicholas Ryan Novak (born August 21, 1981) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Maryland. Novak has played for the Washington Redskins, A ...

, but the Raiders answered with running back

Michael Bush Michael Warren Bush, Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. In addition to the Raiders, B ...

getting a 2-yard touchdown run. Oakland added onto their lead in the second quarter with kicker Sebastian Janikowski getting a 23-yard field goal, followed by quarterback Carson Palmer completing a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Denarius Moore Denarius Earl Moore (born December 9, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee. Early years Born Darnius Earl Mo ...

. The Chargers began the third quarter with quarterback Philip Rivers finding rookie wide receiver Vincent Brown on a 30-yard touchdown pass, but the Raiders struck back with Palmer completing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Moore. Afterwards, San Diego closed out the quarter with Rivers hooking up with fullback Jacob Hester on a 7-yard touchdown pass. The Chargers tried to rally in the fourth quarter, but Oakland's defense held on to preserve the win. Win the loss, not only did San Diego fall to 4–5, but it marked the first time since 2003 that the Chargers had lost four-straight.

Week 11: at Chicago Bears

With the loss, the Chargers fell to 4–6 and lost 5 in a row for the first time since 2003.

Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos

The loss was the sixth consecutive for the Chargers, their longest such streak in 10 years which took their record down to 4–7.

Week 13: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Hoping to snap a six-game losing streak, the Chargers flew to

EverBank Field TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...

for a Week 13 Monday night duel with the Jacksonville Jaguars. San Diego delivered the game's opening punch with a 13-yard touchdown run from running back Mike Tolbert, followed by a 29-yard field goal from kicker

. The Jaguars would answer in the second quarter with quarterback Blaine Gabbert completing a 9-yard touchdown pass to running back

Maurice Jones-Drew Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew (born March 23, 1985), often called "MJD", is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and earned unan ...

and a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Cecil Shorts Cecil Carlon Shorts III (born December 22, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver. He attended Collinwood High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and later the University of Mount Union, where he played for the Mount Union Purple Raiders fo ...

, yet the Chargers replied with quarterback Philip Rivers connecting with rookie wide receiver Vincent Brown on a 22-yard touchdown pass and a 35-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Vincent Jackson Vincent Terrell Jackson (January 14, 1983 – February 15, 2021) was an American professional football player who played as a wide receiver for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northern Colorado, ...

. San Diego added onto its lead in the third quarter with Rivers hooking up with wide receiver

Malcom Floyd Malcom Maiuu Floyd (born September 8, 1981) is a former American professional football player who was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire NFL career with San Diego after sign ...

on a 52-yard touchdown pass. Afterwards, the Bolts would pull away in the fourth quarter with a 31-yard touchdown run from running back Ryan Matthews. With the win, the Chargers improved to 5–7.

Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills

With the win, the Chargers improved to 6–7.

Week 15: vs. Baltimore Ravens

With the win, the Chargers improved to 7–7. Qualcomm Stadium was renamed Snapdragon Stadium as a promotion for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon brand.

Week 16: at Detroit Lions

With the loss, the Chargers fell to 7–8.

Week 17: at Oakland Raiders

With the win, the Chargers wrapped up their season at 8–8 and snapped their three-game losing streak against the Raiders.

Standings

Staff

Final roster

Notes and references

{{2011 NFL season by team

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

San Diego Chargers seasons 2011 in sports in California