Pats Vs. Rams First Half Thoughts

As the New England Patriots take a 17-0 lead into halftime of their Week 13 home game against the LA Rams, here are some first half thoughts. 

A Quick Start- The Patriots offense got off to a quick start, as they took the ball on the opening series of the game and moved 80 yards down the field on eight plays for a score. The drive was capped off by a 43-yard run by Patriots power back LeGarrette Blount, as the team went for it on fourth and one. Blount was given a nice hole to power through, then juked the secondary out of their shoes to capitalize on the solid drive.

Bringing the Heat- As was expected, the Patriots defense is pinning its ears back and coming after Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff. The youngster, who is making just his third career start, has been unable to get in any rhythm and has looked like a deer in headlights so far. On 11 pass attempts, Goff has completed just four passes for 27 yards, while he's thrown a pick and been sacked once.

Winning The Turnover Battle- One of the reasons why the Pats are up in this game is because they have won the turnover battle so far. On their third drive of the game, the Rams finally got the slightest bit of momentum as they picked up a first down. The drive ended just two plays later, however, when Goff was rushed and threw a bad pass to Lance Kendricks, who couldn't reel in the catch. Instead the ball was intercepted by cornerback Malcolm Butler. From there, the Pats offense capitalized on the ensuing drive, scoring just 4 plays later to go up 14-0.

Utilizing The Backs- New England has dedicated much of the first half to getting the ball to all three of their running backs. Combined, the trio of LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis and James White have accounted for 129 of the team's 230 total yards of offense, so far. Blount has led the way with 70 rushing yards on 11 carries, including the 43-yard touchdown run.

Going back to Mitchell- Over the past two weeks, rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell has seen his role in the offense expand. In the first half Sunday, the rookie led the team with four catches for 26 yards.

Attacking the Defense- Coming into the game, the Rams defense had been struggling to stop the run, giving up over 112 yards a game on the ground. Led by power back LeGarrette Blount, the Pats have already eclipsed that mark, as they've scampered for 117 first half rushing yards. Look for them to keep that up in the second half.

Doing What they Should Be- So far, the Patriot defense has been doing what it should be doing against an extremely weak and devoid of talent Rams offense. The New England defense held LA to just 25 first half yards and one first down on 18 plays. The defense has also stopped the Rams on all five third down attempts they've had so far, which is a positive sign as the Patriot defense have struggled to get off the field on third down this season.

Blowing them Out- The Pats are blowing the Rams out in basically every statistical category so far. New England's 230 offensive yards are 205 more than LA's 25. The Pats have also held possession of the ball for 21:51 to LA's 8:09. The Pats' 12 first downs are 11 more than the Rams' single first down. To sum it all up, the Pats have run more offensive plays than the Rams have gained offensive yards.