Gutierrez managed to score some points

Matt Gutierrez didn't help the Patriots to a preseason win Friday, but he may have improved his standing on the depth chart. (John Bohn/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH - Matt Gutierrez had 14 completions in 20 pass attempts, which on both counts was six more than the Other Matt. He threw for 217 yards, which was 157 more than the Other Matt. And he fired touchdown passes of 1 yard and 9 yards to cap second-half scoring drives of 71 and 99 yards.

The Other Matt? Matt Cassel wasn't nearly as productive. Tom Brady's backup completed 8 of 14 for 60 yards and was sacked three times for 16 yards while Brady sat out his third consecutive exhibition game.

Gutierrez was a different story. The third-year quarterback from Idaho State via Michigan seemed to seize an opportunity with his spirited second-half effort in Friday night's 27-17 preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium.

Gutierrez's certainly outshone the flawed three-quarter effort of Cassel, but Gutierrez took little consolation in that, sidestepping a question about whether his play had shown anything to coach Bill Belichick.

"Oh, I don't know," Gutierrez replied. "I know we moved the ball, but I'm sure there's plenty of corrections to make and things to learn from, so we have to keep taking it one day at a time and keep getting better."

But, as he pointed out, Gutierrez did move the ball. Which was more than Cassel could claim after he led six drives that produced 116 yards, six first downs, and a mere 3 points - and was forced to hobble off the field after he was sacked for a 7-yard loss by Jerome McDougle.

"There were some plays that he probably would have liked to have back, but that is pretty much true for everyone," Belichick said. "There is always some positive plays and some that we can improve on, and that goes for all of us."

Gutierrez, who sat out the previous game at Tampa Bay after suffering a bruise to an undisclosed part of his body (presumably his right shoulder), entered Friday night with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter. He directed three series that netted 221 yards, 12 first downs, and 14 points.

"I thought Matt did a good job at leading the team and the opportunities he had," Belichick said. "He hung in there. He took a few hits but he stepped up and threw the ball."

More important, Gutierrez competed with an air of confidence. After all, when you never lose a game as quarterback at DeLaSalle High School in Concord, Calif., and have four teammates who go on to play in the NFL - Maurice Jones-Drew, Derek Landri, D.J. Williams, and Demetrius Williams - you should be confident.

"I enjoy playing the games, so it's good to be out on the field with your teammates competing in an environment other than practice," Gutierrez said. "It's fun to compete against other teams, so I was enjoying myself.

"Football is a game that's played with emotion. I really enjoy playing the game and competing. I'm a pretty laidback person, but I do get excited on the field and I thought we put a good drive together and I thought it was cause for celebration with all the guys who helped make it happen."

If he had any regret about his performance, it was turning the ball over on downs after driving the Patriots from their 3 to the Philadelphia 39, only to get sacked by J.R. Reed for a 7-yard loss on a fourth-and-7 attempt.

"I know there's a lot of room for improvement," Gutierrez said. "So there's going to be plenty of mistakes for me to work on."

After Eagles punter Sav Rocca pinned the Patriots at their 1 with a 54-yard punt, Gutierrez dropped into his own end zone on a risky play-action pass and found rookie tight end Tyson DeVree for a 31-yard gain. A screen pass to BenJarvus Green-Ellis yielded an 18-yard gain to midfield.

After the two-minute warning, Gutierrez hit C.J. Jones with a 37-yard strike that beat the coverage of cornerback Kyle Arrington. An incomplete pass, a 5-yard false start, and another incomplete threatened to thwart the drive, but Gutierrez connected with Ray Ventrone for a 9-yard gain, prompting a fourth-and-6 attempt as the clock wound into the final minute of play.

Out of the shotgun, Gutierrez waited for Jones to flash open at the back of the end zone before finding him with a 9-yard TD toss. When he trotted off the field, Gutierrez was greeted by taps on his helmet and chucks on the shoulder for the impressive 99-yard march.

But it did not alter the outcome.

"We came up short," said Gutierrez, "and there's a lot of room for improvement and we've got to put a better game together and put more points on the board to win."

But did he succeed, at least, in showing his teammates something?

"We compete against each other every day, and every time out is an opportunity to compete and earn your peers' respect," Gutierrez said. "I try to work hard because there's guys in this locker room who are much more established than most of the other guys in the locker room, and the effort they put into it and the amount of work they put into it is above and beyond.

"I always try to show them the respect by putting the same into it and competing hard."

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com