The Chargers would get off to a poor start, as they were devoured 34–3 in their season opener at San Francisco.
After their week 2 win against the Denver Broncos, the Chargers would play to a 17–17 draw with another cross-state rival, the Oakland Raiders.
Even after they defeated the Baltimore Colts in the week following the tie, the Bolts would stumble the rest of the year, winning only 2 more games en route to a 4–9–1 season.
This squad featured several players like Duane Thomas, Tim Rossovich, Dave Costa and John Mackey who were unwanted by most of the other NFL teams.
This unusual occurrence has been repeated only six times since: by the 1980 Buffalo Bills, the 1983 Minnesota Vikings, the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2011 Atlanta Falcons (the only team to do so in a playoff game), the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the 2024 Houston Texans.