Jimmy Garoppolo played in his third preseason game with New England and for the third straight week he threw a touchdown pass as the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-7 on Friday in Foxborough, Mass.

After making his NFL debut on Aug. 7 when he threw a touchdown in the fourth quarter to Brian Tyms against the Washington Redskins, Garoppolo has now thrown for 334 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His highly touted quick release has only gotten better after last year’s record-setting performance with Eastern, and his accuracy remains impressive. Garoppolo has completed 64.9 percent of his passes (24-of-37).

Last year’s Walter Payton Award winner has the No. 2 quarterback rating with players that have attempted 26 or more passes. Garoppolo’s 129.8 rating is only behind San Diego’s Kellen Clemens’ 146.8 so far this preseason.

Drafted in the second round of this year’s draft by the Patriots, Garoppolo joined three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and former Michigan and Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett.

With less than two weeks until the Patriots’ regular-season opener at Miami, Garoppolo has a realistic opportunity of becoming Brady’s backup.

Mallet is in the last year of his rookie contract and despite being the No. 2 quarterback for the past couple of years, Garoppolo’s emergence this preseason could vault him into the new backup position.

In the last five years, New England head coach Bill Belichick has only carried three quarterbacks once on his roster. That was in 2011, when Brian Hoyer and Mallett were the No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks.

While Eastern’s quarterback controversy was finally resolved for this season, the Panthers’ best signal caller in school history is fighting his own battle, hoping to secure a spot with the Patriots.

New England’s preseason finale kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].