EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Have they done enough?

Have 22 members of the New England Patriots performed well enough amid the disappointment of an 0-4 preseason to prove that they’re good enough and reliable enough to help right the ship?

Matt Cassel seems to think so.

“I felt good tonight,” said the fourth-year backup quarterback. “I went through my reads and I had good reads, and I went to the right place to the ball. We weren’t able to get the ball into the end zone, but I felt good about how I performed tonight.”

Cassel, rumored to be at risk for his job as the coaching staff ponders the 22 cuts that must be made by 4 p.m. Saturday, wasn’t alone in hoping that his effort in the Patriots’ 19-14 loss to the New York Giants was enough to convince his masters that his pro career has at least another year in it.

“I’m not concerned, I don’t worry about things I don’t have control over,” said running back LaMont Jordan, one of five running backs who don’t know if Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick intends to keep four or five.

“You never know what’s going to happen in this situation, especially under Coach Belichick,” wide receiver Chad Jackson said. “I think so, but it might not be enough.”

Jackson had positives and negatives in his Thursday effort that mirrored his preseason in general. He slipped and fell in the end zone on what could have been a half-ending touchdown, instead becoming an interception by the Giants. But late in the game, he teamed with rookie Kevin O’Connell for a pretty 16-yard touchdown pass, called by audible at the line of scrimmage.

Cassel’s night was also a microcosm of the preseason. He thought he executed well while completing four of six passes for 37 yards. But he didn’t get the Patriots in the end zone or close to it, and that was clearly a source of disappointment for him.

“It’s definitely frustrating to go out there week in and week out, and not be able to put it together for one reason or another,” he said, knowing that he has led drives that accounted for only two field goals in four games.

He led the first-string offense for two series on Thursday night, accounting for two first downs. Was it enough?

“I don’t make those decisions,” he said. “I just go out there and play. Bill makes the decisions of when I go in and when I go out.”

Jordan carried six times for 27 yards and caught one pass for 23 yards (down to the Giants’ 2-yard line) in his first action since the preseason-opening game against Baltimore. An undisclosed injury kept him out of practice for a large chunk of training camp, but he said he tried to stay on top of the learning curve.

“Tonight was the first time I’ve ever done the two-minute drill for this team, ever,” he said. “Even in practice. When we were doing the calls for the two-minute in practice, I would always stand there and listen for the calls so if I was ever thrown into the situation, I would be prepared for it.

“As I said on my first day here, I just want to make the team, first and foremost,” the former Raiders’ running back said. “People say, ‘Don’t worry about that, you’re going to make the team.’ Well, nothing in this business is guaranteed until it actually happens. But I feel pretty good … preseason is over, I’ve just got to get on that plane, get home safe, wake up in the morning, get a little treatment and get to the meetings.”

Quarterback Matt Gutierrez (5-9, 69 yards, one interception) summed up the feeling of a lot of his teammates as they entered what might be the last day of their association with the New England Patriots.

“It’s a stressful time for a lot of people,” he said. “I know that I have worked hard and played hard, and now you can’t control what decisions are made.”