Both the Patriots and Texans turned the ball over throughout the first half. And New England cornerback Marcus Jones took advantage in a big way during the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Jones let up a Christian Kirk touchdown early in the game, but he made up for it early in the second quarter.

With just under 11 minutes to play in the half, the Patriots offense was struggling in a big way and had just punted.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud dropped back to pass under pressure, and his pass floated dangerously into the air. Jones snagged it, ran it back the other way and maneuvered his way to the pylon.

Despite the best efforts of a Houston offensive player to stop him, Jones brought the ball into the end zone and brought the Gillette Stadium crowd to life. His score gave New England a 14-10 lead with 10:31 to go in the second quarter.

Jones bounced back nicely from the early touchdown he allowed. In addition to the touchdown, he nearly had another interception later in the half.

Carlton Davis had a massive first half in the Patriots. In the first quarter, the veteran cornerback made a diving play along the sideline, getting a knee down inbounds to seal the interception.

Later with the Texans driving, Davis came up with another interception to help keep points off the board.

In total, the New England defense held C.J. Stroud to 10 for 26 passing for 124 yards, forcing him to throw four interceptions.

Maye struggled with ball security as well. He was 10 for 19 in the first half. Though he had two touchdowns, he also threw one interception and fumbled three times. Fortunately for the Patriots, they only lost one of those fumbles.

The Patriots headed into the locker room with a 21-10 lead at halftime.