Picked-up pieces after reviewing the first quarter of the New England Patriots’ 16-9 victory over the Oakland Raiders:

1. This was not a good game for the offensive line and the third-and-23 with 1:14 remaining is a good one to highlight as to why that was the case. There aren’t many good plays to convert a third-and-23, but what happened was still alarming. The Raiders showed an initial four-man rush look before dropping defensive tackle Antonio Smith off the line and rushing three. So the Patriots had a 5-on-3 numbers edge and yet they lost in each matchup.

• Right tackle Sebastian Vollmer’s pass set looked a bit off against LaMarr Woodley in a one-on-one situation, and that minor technique lapse helped Woodley pinch the edge and get quarterback Tom Brady off the spot.

• A double team against interior rusher Justin Tuck by right guard Jordan Devey and center Dan Connolly was ineffective, with Devey throwing Tuck to the ground for an obvious holding penalty.

• A double team against edge rusher Khalil Mack by left tackle Nate Solder and left guard Marcus Cannon was ineffective, with Mack getting into Solder, who also could have been called for holding.

If you can’t win a 5-on-3 situation, you really don’t have much of a chance.

2. While there was criticism for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in opening the game with three straight passes against the NFL’s worst-rated run defense, it wasn’t like he didn’t recover quickly. On their second drive, the Patriots opened with three straight running plays with offensive tackle Cameron Fleming (6-foot-6, 325 pounds) as an eligible tight end to get more beef on the field. All three came to Fleming’s side, with the barely-made-it third-down run coming to the left where Solder, Vollmer and Fleming aligned in an unbalanced power look. It wasn’t about play calling on the second drive; it was about execution and simply blocking the opposition -- and that was way too inconsistent.

3. The Patriots didn’t necessarily blitz a lot, but they often disguised their intentions by having players drop off the line of scrimmage and have others rush. For example, on the Raiders’ initial third-down play (13:42 remaining), defensive tackle Dominique Easley dropped into a shallow zone where tight end Mychal Rivera caught an 8-yard pass to move the sticks. That was a nice bang-bang play by the Raiders. Later, on a third-and-6 play (7:44 remaining), Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich dropped out, with linebacker Jerod Mayo rushing up the middle and safety Nate Ebner (in the dime) coming off the edge. The Raiders seemed to handle it well. Credit to them.

4. The Patriots’ first third-down play on offense, a 4-yard receiver screen to Brandon LaFell, was just a mess. Because Solder and receiver Kenbrell Thompkins were blocking the same player from different angles (Thompkins from the slot), it actually turned out that Solder plowed Thompkins into the ground with the Raiders defender between them. The play never had a chance. Hard to imagine that was the way it was drawn up in practice.

5. The timing also was off on what was essentially a triple play-action (jet sweep, inside dive and end around) on the first-and-20 failed screen to running back Shane Vereen. That’s a tough play to pull off, and first-and-20 seemed like the time to try it, but Cannon and Connolly looked like they couldn’t get to cornerback Carlos Rogers in time and Vereen was dropped for a loss of 5 yards. Had they done so, perhaps there was some yardage to pick up there.

6. Best Patriots player in the first 15 minutes? Special teams captain Matthew Slater, who drew a holding penalty and made a beautiful open-field tackle, both in punt coverage.

7. Linebacker Dont'a Hightower is playing every snap and it’s easy to see why the coaching staff has the confidence to leave him on the field in all situations. He is playing very well and his pre-snap recognition -- as he followed receiver James Jones in motion from left to right -- helped set him up to be in the right position to tackle running back Darren McFadden for a loss of 6 yards on a screen pass (5:14 remaining).

8. Ninkovich didn’t get credit for the sack, but his one-on-one victory against right tackle Khalif Barnes on second-and-6 was just as effective (7:49 remaining). Ninkovich played with power initially before slapping Barnes’ hands away and bending around him to bear down on quarterback Derek Carr and force an incomplete pass. Similar to Hightower, Ninkovich has played every snap the last two games.

9. Chandler Jones is most effective as an end-of-the-line player on early downs, but the Patriots are still reducing him inside in obvious passing situations. One benefit of that is when he gets his hands into the passing lane, as we saw on his deflection on third-and-14. The Patriots blitzed on the play with a five-man rush and the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Jones got his long arms up over left guard Gabe Jackson (6-3, 336).