Patriots Vs. Ravens First Half Thoughts

As the New England Patriots take a 16-3 lead into the half of their Monday night battle with the Baltimore Ravens, here are some first half thoughts:

An Unconventional Score- The Pats defense started the scoring off in a somewhat unconventional way, as defensive tackle Malcom Brown sandwiched Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon in the end zone for a safety, on Baltimore's second drive of the game. Brown and company busted through the line on the first down play, after a nifty and well-timed late shit by the New England front that was drawn up by defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The opportunity was brought about by a tremendous special teams play by undrafted rookie Jonathan Jones. Jones tracked down a strong boot by New England punter Ryan Allen, which was inexplicably left untouched by Ravens returner Devin Hester, and was able to tap the ball back just inches from the goal line.

Strong Special Teams- The Pats have, so far, outplayed Baltimore on special teams, as they've put together multiple big plays to help slow the Ravens. First, it was the tremendous effort from Jones to keep the ball from rolling into the end zone, which led to the Patriots defense forcing a safety. The second example of tremendous special teams execution came on the heels of Baltimore's best drive of the night. After getting the ball inside the New England 30, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was set to attempt a chip shot field goal. The kicker, who had not missed on the season however, was met by Shea McClellin just second after the holder got the ball in place. McClellin had timed his jump perfectly and, on the snap, had jumped and cleared the Baltimore long snapper to get into the backfield and easily block the would-be field goal. From there, the remarkable high jumping ability of McClellin wound up developing into the New England offense adding another seven points to the score board.

Getting Things Rolling- It took a little bit longer than expected, but after a few tough drives, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense got things rolling in the right direction. After three drives that totaled just 14 plays and 39 yards and resulted in three straight punts, the New England offense finally woke up and began to roll. Over their next two drives, the Pats offense went 74 yards and 89 yards respectively to add back-to-back touchdowns to the scoreboard and take a 16-0 lead midway through the second quarter. After completing just three of his first 10 pass attempts for 29 yards, Brady finished the half with an extra vigor, going 15 of 26 for 230 yards and a score. All in all the New England offense enters the break with a 290 yards and 13 first downs on 43 first half plays.

Top Run Defense?- The Ravens entered the game as the top rush defense in the league, but the Patriots running game controlled things in the first half of play. On 16 carries, the Pats backs rushed for 65 yards, which averages out to 4.1 yards per carry. The rushing attack was poised by New ENgland's power back LeGarrette Blount, who carried the ball nine times for a team-high 41 yards. The big ball carrier averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

In The Record Books- Blount added his name to the New England rushing record books in the first half, when he powered into the end zone in the second quarter for the team's first touchdown of the game. The score was Blount's 14th of the season, which ties him for the franchise single-season record with Curtis Martin, who did it in back-to-back seasons early in his Hall-of-Fame career.

A Dominating Performance- In a performance that was contrary to what they've done most of the season, the New England defense was downright dominant in the first half of play. Though they entered the game tied with the Baltimore defense as the best scoring defense in the league, the Pats defense has not been very impressive this season, when it comes to getting off the field and limiting yards and time of possession for their opponents. In the first two quarters, the New England defense held a Ravens offense that scored 38 points last week to just 3 points, seven first downs and 142 total yards on 31 plays. They also got a takeaway, in the form of a Devin McCourty pick, forced a safety, created a sack and held Baltimore to just three of eight on third down.

Keep It Up- The Pats defense will have to put together a strong start to the second half to keep the Ravens down and give their offense a chance to add on to the 13-point lead. Baltimore will be looking to chip away at the lead and double up from a field goal at the end of the first half, when they get the ball to start the third quarter. New England must come out with a stop to start things off and keep momentum in their favor.

3-10 29yds