Patriots-Raiders halftime report: Tom Brady almost flawless as New England leads 17-0

The New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders are playing in Mexico City and Tom Brady and company have command of the game, up 17-0 at the half and getting the ball after the break.

The Raiders started the game with the football, but gained just 18 yards on 6 plays before punting the ball to the Patriots and Brady went right to work.

New England started the drive on their own 13-yard line and Brady led a methodical 15-play, 87-yard drive that ended with a nifty touchdown catch-and-run by running back Dion Lewis. Brady spread the ball to everyone on the offense as a sign of things to come.

The Raiders started their next drive on the 25-yard line and gained just 15 yards before quarterback Derek Carr launched a deep pass that ricocheted off the shoulder pads of his receiver and right into the waiting arms of Patriots free safety Duron Harmon, setting the Patriots up for another drive.

Brady and the offense didn’t have a problem moving down the field, but a curiously drawn-up deep ball on third down forced the Patriots to punt the ball back to the Raiders, still holding a 7-0 lead.

Oakland gained 41 yards before the Patriots forced another punt and Brady led a 9-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that included a beautiful 52-yard deep pass to Brandin Cooks and capped off with a touchdown pass to Danny Amendola, giving the Patriots a 14-0 lead.

The Raiders really needed to put points on the board and they led a strong drive heading into the two-minute warning and the break, reaching the red zone and the Patriots’ 15-yard line, but cornerback Jonathan Jones and linebacker Marquis Flowers teamed up to force a fumble by the goal line, keeping the Raiders off the board and giving the ball back to Brady with 33 seconds left in the half.

Dion Lewis ran for 20 yards before Brady found Amendola for 18 yards and Rob Gronkowski for 10 yards, moving towards the Raiders 45-yard line and setting up a 62-yard field goal attempt for Stephen Gostkowski. Gostkowski connected on his new career-high to set up a 17-0 lead and that kick would have been good from 70 yards out.

Brady finished the half throwing 20 of 24 (83.3%) for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns for a passer rating of 129.3. Cooks is the leading receiver with 69 yards on 4 catches, while Amendola chipped in 45 yards and Gronkowski added 36. Dion Lewis has 48 yards from scrimmage.

The Patriots defense is clearly playing well as they’ve allowed zero points all game.

New England gets the ball after the half.