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FOXBORO - Looking at the wrong end of a 27-3 deficit, Matt Gutierrez had the opportunity Friday night to make chicken salad out of another chicken by-product.

The second-year quarterback wasn't entering the preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles flanked by the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker, nor was he going against the Eagles' No. 1 defense, either. At a time like that, it was up to Gutierrez to stay within himself, play football as he knows how, and count upon the coaches to accurately judge his performance by the way he executed what he's been taught in practice.

"I'm not sure really how I performed until we watch the film tomorrow," Gutierrez said after leading a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and narrowing the Patriots' margin of defeat to 10 points, 27-17. "Obviously, we didn't win and that's the most important thing. So there's obviously room for improvement and that includes me."

Gutierrez completed 14 of 20 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, throws of 1 yard to Chad Jackson and 9 yards to C.J. Jones. He was sacked once for 7 yards and was not intercepted, and came away from his two-quarter effort with a gaudy 139.0 passer rating.

Perhaps most impressive during his performance was marching the Patriots 99 yards in nine plays in just 2:20, leading to the TD pass to Jones with 41 seconds left to play. The former Idaho State signal-caller started the possession with a 31-yard pass to new acquisition Tyson DeVree and an 18-yarder to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, followed by a sharply-thrown 37-yard pass to Jones. A 9-yarder to Ray Ventrone immediately preceded the touchdown pass to Jones on a crossing pattern in the end zone.

Gutierrez said that even though it was fun to lead a 99-yard drive, the looming result on the scoreboard tempered the celebration somewhat.

"I told them, 'Good catch,'" he said. "Those guys are great athletes and good players and those are the types of plays that they can make. I have to trust them and give them an opportunity to make those plays. I enjoy playing the game and all these guys do, too. We work hard and when we do something good, we should celebrate it. But like I said before, one or two good plays weren't enough."

In general, it was a disappointing night for the first string, which operated without Tom Brady (injured foot) for the third straight game.

"Well, he's Tom Brady. That says enough right there," said running back Sammy Morris (five carries, 24 yards). "But regardless of who's out there it's up to us to execute and do our own job. It may come out where we may have to be without Tom. So it's up to whoever is in there to execute."

"Frustrating is probably a good word," added fullback Heath Evans (three catches, 34 yards). "At the end of the day, we look back from where we were four weeks ago, we're getting better as a team. Obviously, as an offense, we've been accustomed to one style of play, and it's high-flying, and it's fast, and it's kind of a vicious style of offense. It gets after you. Well, now we've got to find a different way to win ball games on offense."

Morris said it may not be fair to judge the struggles of the offense without taking into account the missing personnel. Starting tackle Matt Light and starting guard Stephen Neal are still out of action, and wide receiver Wes Welker left the game early with a rib injury suffered during a return.

"It's difficult right now just because the people that are in there, we're not executing," Morris said. "Regardless of who's in there, we're not executing. That's the bottom line for us."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.