Harbaugh Accountable for Chargers' 0-3 Start; Dolphins

We're three weeks into the NFL season, just shy of a fifth of the way through the year. There's not a ton that we know for sure just yet, but we do know a lot more than we did at the start of the year.

We know that the 3-0 teams are riding high. The Kansas City Chiefs , Buffalo Bills , San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings are likely very happy with how things have gone so far. Three of those offenses have been humming right along, and the fourth team's defense (Minnesota) looks like it could be one of the best in the league. Things could hardly be any better.

The 11 teams sitting at 2-1 are probably happy enough with how things have gone, too. Sure, there are some teams (like the Eagles or Seahawks or Ravens ) that have a disappointing loss on their ledger or are dealing with major injuries (like the Giants ). Or maybe their defense is falling apart (like the  Lions ), or their offense mostly hasn't looked up to snuff (like the  Steelers ), but for the most part, they're happy to be above .500 three weeks in.

The 11 teams sitting at 1-2 are probably less thrilled. They've blown winnable games (like the Cowboys ,  Rams and Jets ) or they've gotten embarrassed in big spots (like the Packers ). Some just haven't been good enough on one side of the ball. But hey, they're only one game below .500, and they could be right back in the thick of things if they secure a win this coming weekend. Things aren't all bad.

And then there are the 0-3 teams. They're in the deep water, just hoping they don't drown. Things are dire, and there is plenty of blame to go around. That's what we're here for today: to assign blame.

We're going to dole out some blame pie for each of the Houston Texans , Los Angeles Chargers , Miami Dolphins , Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans , identifying who and what is responsible for their respective 0-3 starts.

Houston Texans

Injuries: 30% | Offensive line: 30% | Running game: 20% | Schedule: 15% | Defense: 5%

Nico Collins going down with a hamstring injury in practice has, well, hamstrung the Texans' offense over the last two weeks against the Bengals and Colts . C.J. Stroud hasn't looked nearly the same as he did in Week 1 against the Bills. Plus, Houston's remade (again) offensive line is once again not up to par.

Stroud has been pressured on over 38% of his dropbacks, and the Texans have averaged a mere 1.4 yards before contact per rush, according to Tru Media. They have been even worse than that after contact, though, with the David Montgomery/Woody Marks duo ranking 22nd in avoided-tackle rate and 31st in yards after contact per attempt.

Playing Buffalo and Cincinnati in two of the first three games before traveling to Indianapolis for a division game isn't the best schedule in the world, but it's not like the Texans couldn't have gotten at least one win out of that. So, we can't blame the schedule too much. The defense doesn't deserve much in the way of blame after the way it played over the last two weeks, but it did get lit up by Josh Allen and Co. in Week 1, and if the Texans had buckled down late in that game, they could be 1-2 right now instead of 0-3.

Los Angeles Chargers

Coaching: 50% | Offense: 35% | Defense: 15%

The Chargers are the sloppiest team in the NFL through the first three weeks of the season. They lead the NFL with 10 false start penalties; only six other teams have more than five. They're second in the NFL with seven fumbles (they've been lucky enough to recover five), and one of those fumbles came when the center snapped the ball directly into the motion man.

They look like a poorly-coached operation on both sides of the ball. The offense has somehow only been credited with four drops even though it seems like Quentin Johnston has that many on his own. The running game cannot get going (and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel keeps calling runs anyway), the offensive line looks out of sorts and Justin Herbert is not doing nearly enough to overcome his surroundings.

The defense is getting by on forcing turnovers (17.1% of opponent drives have ended with a giveaway, per Tru Media, but that's in large part due to Buffalo's five turnovers this past Sunday). However, it has rarely forced three-and-outs, has allowed opponents an average of four trips into the red zone per week and gave up a free first down with a holding penalty on second-and-26 against the Bills the other day.

Miami Dolphins

Lack of talent: 100%

We kind of knew this coming into the season, given that the Dolphins parted ways with so many of their best players this past offseason. They're firmly in the rebuilding stage and are barely trying to win, whether they want to admit it publicly or not. Because of that, they simply do not have the talent that is necessary to compete on either side of the ball. They will have even less talent on offense now that De'Von Achane is out for the year with a torn ACL. A 0-17 season is firmly on the table .

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Offense: 75% | Defense: 25%

Baker Mayfield and Co. are 29th in Tru Media's version of success rate and dead last in EPA per play. Mayfield himself is down to 6.4 yards per attempt, with only two touchdown passes and two interceptions through three weeks. He's also taken a league-high 13 sacks (the offensive line has been underwhelming), and he's even been leaving clean pockets whenever his first read isn't there. That's resulted in the Bucs' offense looking disjointed and stilted.

Without some breakaway runs by Bucky Irving in the first two weeks, Tampa's results would look even worse. And Irving isn't blameless, anyway; he had one of the Bucs' FOUR Week 1 fumbles against the Bengals in the season opener. The defense has been better than the offense, but the improvement we expected after all of Tampa's investment on that side of the ball hasn't really come through yet.

Tennessee Titans

Coaching: 33.3% | Lack of talent: 33.3% | Quarterback Play: 33.4%

The Titans hiring Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll as head coach and offensive coordinator, respectively, probably should have been a red flag. It sure looks so three weeks into the year. Plus, Tennessee going on a spending spree in free agency but not bringing in any true game-changing players should have been another red flag. Again, it sure looks like one three weeks into the year.

And then — this one pains me as a University of Miami alum —  Cam Ward has been simply dreadful. Like last year, he is not hitting the layups that form the foundation of solid quarterback play. Unlike last year, he is not making any spectacular plays to make up for it. It's really bad in Tennessee.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/blame-game-for-0-3-teams-jim-harbaugh-chargers/)._