BOSTON (CBS) -- After a brief appearance by Tom Brady on Thursday night, the keys to New England's preseason opener were handed to Jimmy Garoppolo.

Following New England's 22-11 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Gillette, the second-year QB admits there's a lot of work left to be done under the hood.

"There were ups and downs. We've got a long way to go, obviously. Eleven points isn't by any means good enough. There's room for improvement," a sullen Garoppolo told reporters after the loss.

The results on Thursday night don't matter, but considering Garoppolo may be starting the first four games of the regular season for the Patriots, there is a little added pressure for the 23-year-old to get things going in the right direction. It explains why he was so hard on himself following the loss.

"I wish I had the deep ball tonight that I had last year in the first preseason game. That would've helped a little bit, but you've got to take it in stride, really," he admitted after going 20-for-30 for 159 yards and an interception.

Garoppolo hit the field with a makeshift offensive line and a crop of receivers that likely won't be making the club, so Thursday night's struggles shouldn't fall solely on him. But he seemed to lock in on receiver Josh Boyce for long stretches of the contest with very limited success. Boyce was targeted 11 times on Thursday night, 10 by Garoppolo and one by Brady in his two series, but only came down with two receptions for 19 yards.

While looking for Boyce, Garoppolo often held on to the ball for a second or two too long. That led to Jimmy getting an early introduction to the Gillette turf, as he was sacked seven times.

"They were bringing a little bit of heat, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. You've just got to handle it," he said.

These are the struggles you would expect out of someone who was playing against Ohio Valley Conference defenses just two years ago, especially without an actual offensive line or receiving corps. But with Brady's four-game suspension still being sorted out in the courts, and the possibility of four big starts in very meaningful games for Garoppolo, there has to be some added pressure to make it all right before September 10.

If there is, Jimmy isn't saying it.

"I'm taking it day by day. I'm going into it pretty much the same way I would, whether this was going on or not," he said. "Whether you're the backup, starter, third-string, whatever it may be, you have to have the mindset that you're the starter. In training camp there's a lot of repetition, a lot of guys mixing and matching, so you have to be able to play with multiple guys."

While Brady's situation continues to drag on, and a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the Patriots regarding Weeks 1-4 of the regular season, we'll see plenty more Garoppolo over the next three weeks as he tries to fix the mistakes of Thursday night.

If Brady ends up winning in court and is under center for Week 1, Garoppolo's struggles won't matter much. But either way, these growing pains during the preseason could prove to be a valuable lesson further down the road.