Taking a look at the final score, the New England Patriots' 25-14 preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers doesn't look that bad.

Taking a look at Bill Belichick's demeanor at his postgame press conference, it seemed as though his team had just lost by 50 points with the playoffs on the line -- much less an exhibition.

But that's just Belichick in his natural setting. Heading into his 19th season with the Patriots, Belichick is a coach who looks for everything he can possible be critical of and attempt to root it out to make the team better.

Sometimes, that means putting on a grumpy face after a preseason loss in which he says the Panthers "outplayed us across the board for four quarters."

"We've got a lot of work to do," Belichick said. "There really wasn't part of the game that was very competitive. We just have to go back to work and see if we can find a way to do a few things better than we did tonight. That's really about all there is to say. They just did a good job."

The Patriots struggled noticeably in different areas of the game Friday. The first issue was the Panthers' opening drive in which the Patriots couldn't get the offense off the field until a field goal finally sailed through the uprights after 9:56 had passed on the game clock.

After that, the offense sputtered, resulting in a 9-3 halftime deficit, at which point Tom Brady was pulled from the game. The Panthers ended up stretching the lead to 25-3 before the Patriots scored some points in garbage time.

"Tonight we just weren't very competitive against a good team," Belichick said. "(We) did a few things, made a few plays in the red area, gained a few yards, but in the end we really couldn't do much."

But were there any positives to take away? Here's what Belichick had to say to that question.

"I don't know."

Belichick is famously prickly with the media, but his podium appearance Friday night seem to include criticism directed at his own team than normal. Belichick didn't seem to care that it was a preseason game or that the margin of victory was only 11 points.

"We'll just go back to work," Belichick said. "Obviously, we've got a lot of work to do and weren't able to accomplish much tonight and play well in any of the three phases of the game. just gotta get back to work, do a better job than that."

The Patriots return to action next Thursday for their preseason finale against the New York Giants. After that, it's on to roster cuts. The Patriots need to get their roster down to 53 players on Sept. 1.