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Los Angeles Chargers vs Los Angeles Rams recap: final score and what we learned (2026 Week 8)

NFL Audit · 2026 Week 8 · Game recap

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24–9, and the Chargers' losing streak, already at six games going in, stretches again. For the Rams it's a second straight win after the 35–21 result over the Las Vegas Raiders. For the Chargers, the question we asked in the preview, whether a turnaround could start here, has the same answer as before: not yet.

The result

The final margin was 15, and it was earned in a strange way. The Chargers actually finished with more total yards, 295 to 281, and more passing yards, 231 to 152. They had the better yards per pass too, 6.8 against 5.8. If you stopped reading there, you'd think the Chargers won.

Then look at what the yards turned into. The Chargers threw two interceptions to the Rams' one, and neither team lost a fumble. The ground game was lopsided. The Rams ran for 129 yards on 27 carries, 4.8 per rush. The Chargers managed 64 yards on 25 carries, just 2.6 per rush. Only one of the Chargers' 14 first downs came on the ground, while the Rams picked up 7 of their 16 that way. That's a team that could move the ball through the air but couldn't make the Rams respect the run, and 9 points is what that looks like.

How our preview held up

The preview made no pick, so there's no call to grade, but the reading of the game holds up well. We said everything in the data leaned toward the Rams: the better scoring numbers, the friendlier matchup figures, and the better recent result. The Rams won by a comfortable margin. We also flagged the Chargers' offense as the bigger worry, and 9 points fits a team averaging 15 per game. It was an improvement on the 6 they scored against the Chiefs, but not much of one.

Two things we expected only partly showed up. We pointed to the Rams' rushing pair as a key strength, and the team's 129 rushing yards backs that up, though I can't tell you from this data who carried the load. We also spotlighted Justin Herbert as the engine of the Chargers' offense, and the 231 passing yards suggest the passing game did function. The preview's warning was that moving the ball wouldn't be enough if the Chargers couldn't change the shape of the game early. That's about what happened. They had the yardage but not the result.

What it means

For the Rams, this was a win built on efficiency, not dominance. They had fewer plays, 53 to the Chargers' 59, and fewer yards, yet they still won by two scores. That fits the profile we described in the preview: a team that wins by being a bit more productive than it is vulnerable. It isn't a juggernaut. It doesn't need to be.

For the Chargers, it's a harder conversation. The offense found yardage but not enough points, the running game was close to nonexistent, and two interceptions did real damage. The defense is still part of the problem too. Their season-long figure of 25.2 allowed per game was already a concern, and the Rams scored 24.

The good news for Los Angeles' other team is that the passing numbers weren't broken. The bad news is that a team can't win in the NFL on yards alone. Until the running game and the turnovers get fixed, the losing streak is likely to stick around.

Read our pre-game preview: Los Angeles Chargers vs Los Angeles Rams preview: team news, form and key matchups (2026 Week 8)

Final score

Team stats

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Data attribution: Stats for informational analysis only. Verify figures against official league sources.