Former ASU QB Mike Bercovici gets extended run against Cardinals

Arizona State product Mike Bercovici might’ve gotten his best chance to stick with the San Diego Chargers on Friday.

If that’s the case, he couldn’t have done much better in making future roster decisions difficult for Chargers head coach Mike McCoy and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.

With starting quarterback Philip Rivers and veteran backup Zach Mettenberger sitting out for a Week 2 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, Bercovici shined behind starter Kellen Clemens. In extended action during San Diego’s 19-3 victory at Qualcomm Stadium, the former Sun Devil quarterback completed 9-of-13 passes for 108 yards.

“There was a lot of good throws in there, and you see some movement in the pocket and the great thing is being under the clock management at the end of the game,” McCoy said of Bercovici, “see how he is going to do things and letting the clock get down to a certain amount of time and we are going to snap it.”

Aside from a should-be interception that was dropped by Cardinals rookie safety Marqui Christian, Bercovici looked comfortable in the offense. His passes, for the most part, showed both velocity and accuracy.

His first attempt of the evening was batted down at the line of scrimmage, but he followed it by leading San Diego on a 10-play, 43-yard drive to set up a 50-yard Josh Lambo field goal. San Diego didn’t score again, but on one drive their backup quarterback strung together six straight completions before an incomplete pass came on 3rd-and-5.

Bercovici played the entire second half for San Diego and took on a larger role after the Chargers’ four quarterbacks all split snaps in a Week 1 preseason loss to the Tennessee Titans. In that game, Bercovici went 3-for-6 for 46 yards and an interception.

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