The 2016 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 ...

' 47th 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 ...

, their 57th overall, their 56th and final season in

San Diego, California 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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and their fourth and final season under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Mike McCoy. Due to the age of

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

, there was speculation that the team would be relocating back to Los Angeles, where the franchise played its first season in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. This followed a decision by the NFL to allow the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

to return to the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

with a provision that the Chargers may relocate to Los Angeles as well. On January 4, 2016, the team filed a relocation application to the NFL along with the Rams and the

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 ...

releasing a statement and a video on the team's website. The league made its decision in a special meeting on January 12; it approved the Chargers' relocation if they chose to share

SoFi Stadium SoFi Stadium () is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, United States. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, from Los Angeles International Airport an ...

with the Rams (the Raiders-Chargers proposal did not receive enough support from the league as a whole to proceed, prompting the Raiders to back out). On January 29, 2016, the Chargers announced they would remain in

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 ...

for the 2016 season as negotiations with the city continued; the team also reached an agreement in principle to use the Rams' Los Angeles stadium should negotiations with the city of San Diego fail. On November 8, 2016, Measure C was voted down by voters 57% to 43%; and on January 12, 2017, the Chargers officially announced a move to Los Angeles, making 2016 their final season in San Diego. This would also be the first time in nine seasons that

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er free safety

Eric Weddle Eric Steven Weddle (born January 4, 1985) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he was a consensus All-American, and was selected by t ...

was not on the team, having departed via free agency to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. Weddle had spent his entire career with the Chargers, starting with the 2007 NFL season. On January 1, 2017, the Chargers fired McCoy after four seasons.

Offseason

Roster Changes

Signed

Departures

Draft

Notes * The Chargers traded their 2016 fifth-round selection, along with their

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

first- and fourth-round selections to the

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 ...

in exchange for the 49ers' 2015 first-round selection. * The Chargers acquired an additional sixth-round selection in a trade that sent

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Jeremiah Sirles Jeremiah Sirles (born August 8, 1991) is a former American football guard. He played college football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and attended Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, Colorado. He played in the NFL as a member of the Sa ...

to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. * As the result of a negative differential of free agent signings and departures that the Chargers experienced during the free agency period, the team received one

compensatory selection The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

for the 2016 draft in the fifth round. Free agent transactions that occurred after May 12, 2015, did not impact the team's formula for determining compensatory selections for the 2016 draft.

Staff

Final roster

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs

Leading 21–3 at halftime, the Chargers blew their lead, scoring only six more points by field goals. Kansas City rallied with 24 unanswered points, forcing overtime, where the Chiefs won the season's opening game.

Week 2: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Already without Keenan Allen for the entire season, running back Danny Woodhead suffered a torn ACL, putting him out for the season. Nevertheless, the Chargers would go on to burn the Jaguars, winning 38–14 and with that, they went to 1–1.

Week 3: at Indianapolis Colts

With a stunning loss on a 63-yard Colts touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton with 1:17 to play, the Chargers' record fell to 1–2.

Week 4: vs. New Orleans Saints

Ahead 34–21, the Chargers gave up two Drew Brees touchdown passes in the final five minutes and fell to 1–3.

Week 5: at Oakland Raiders

With their third straight loss to the Raiders, the Chargers fell to 1–4.

Week 6: vs. Denver Broncos

The Chargers wore Color Rush uniforms with shades of blue and yellow San Diego used from 1974 until 1984. The team snapped a 3-game losing streak against the Broncos and improved to 2–4.

Week 7: at Atlanta Falcons

The Chargers came into this game with a 1–8 all-time record against Atlanta, and this marked San Diego's first visit to Atlanta since 2004. The Falcons had built a 27–10 lead by the two-minute warning at the end of the first half, but the Chargers pulled them back and leveled the score at 30–30 with a 33-yard

Josh Lambo Joshua Gregory Lambo (born November 19, 1990) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and then signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 17, 2017. H ...

field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation. Lambo then hit a 42-yard attempt in overtime to seal the win for the Chargers as they improved to 3–4.

Week 8: at Denver Broncos

Week 9: vs. Tennessee Titans

This turned out to be the Chargers last win in San Diego. They lost their last 4 games at Qualcomm Stadium.

Week 10: vs. Miami Dolphins

Philip Rivers would throw four fourth quarter interceptions in this game, including a crucial pick-6 with a minute remaining that was returned by Kiko Alonso. With the loss, the Chargers went into their bye week at 4–6.

Week 12: at Houston Texans

This would end up being the last win for the Chargers in franchise history while in San Diego.

Week 13: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 14: at Carolina Panthers

Week 15: vs. Oakland Raiders

With the loss, the Chargers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the 3rd straight year, and 7th time in 8 years.

Week 16: at Cleveland Browns

The loss dropped the Chargers to 5–10, and they became the only team to lose to the Cleveland Browns in 2016.

Week 17: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

With their sixth straight loss to the Chiefs, the Chargers finished the season 5–11. This would be the final game played as the San Diego Chargers before relocating to Los Angeles following the season.