The New England Patriots have a 13-10 lead on the Las Vegas Raiders going into halftime.
So far this game has been a defensive showdown between the two teams with Bill Belichick and Jon Gruden having a proverbial chess match with each other. Both teams have had their moments to shine and also has had key missed opportunities on turnovers.
Here is what to lookout for going into the second half of the showdown in Foxborough.
The running backs are eating early
If either one of these teams want to leave Gillette Stadium with a victory today, they need to stop the run.
Both teams have been effective in the run game against the other defense so far in this game. The Raiders have seen several great runs by Josh Jacobs and Devontae Booker to move the chains. The Patriots have also been effective with Sony Michel and the undrafted rookie out of Arizona JJ Taylor, who is leading their team in rushing yards and carries.
With both teams proving they can get it done on the ground so far, expect both to keep it in their gameplan for the second half.
The Silver and Black secondary showed up to play
The Raiders secondary has looked stellar in the first half so far. The defense collectively has looked satisfactory, but many of the Raiders' stops have been due to their amazing coverage so far.
Cam Newton has been uncomfortable making throws in the first half with Trayvon Mullen putting himself in great position to make a couple of pass breakups, and Johnathan Abram picking off his first pass of his NFL career on Newton in the first quarter was huge.
The defensive line has looked great as well, containing the former Heisman winner, including a sack by Maxx Crosby. It must be said that much of the pressure the defensive line has been getting on the Patriots quarterback is in large part due to the great coverage of the secondary in the first half.
Darn Penalties
The Raiders have made several untimely penalties this game.
This comes after being one of the leagues least penalized teams the first two games of the season. A couple of the penalties have prevented the Raiders from getting in better scoring position on a third down in a goal line situation in the first quarter, as well as keeping the Patriots offense on the field.
The Raiders must stop giving up free yards to the Patriots if they want to remain in this contest.
