Bills lead the Pats 17-14 at halftime

The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills have played a wild first half on Monday night, with the Patriots taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room.

New England has done plenty right offensively, but turnovers have once again been a major concern for Drake Maye and the Patriots.

The Patriots opened the game with an impressive defensive stand, forcing Buffalo into a three-and-out on the opening possession. Kevin Byard broke up a third-down pass, and Elijah Ponder later added a sack of Josh Allen as New England's defense continued to make life difficult for the Bills.

New England then put together an aggressive opening scoring drive.

Maye converted a first down with his legs before finding Hunter Henry for a seven-yard gain. After a botched snap turned into a bizarre jump pass to Henry, the Patriots went for it on fourth down and Maye found a wide-open Romeo Doubs.

A few plays later, New England went back to Doubs.

Maye launched a deep pass into the end zone, where Doubs made the catch for a 7-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Patriots lead.

It was an impressive response from a Patriots offense that has struggled to find consistency early in the season.

Buffalo eventually answered with a James Cook touchdown, but the Patriots regained the lead in the second quarter.

Josh McDaniels dialed up some trickery with TreVeyon Henderson taking the ball for an 11-yard run, and Maye repeatedly used his legs to keep the drive moving. The quarterback nearly broke free for a touchdown before being stopped inside the 1-yard line.

Rhamondre Stevenson finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put New England ahead 14-7.

The Patriots then appeared to catch another break when a Maye pass was picked off and returned into the end zone. The play was reviewed and overturned, with officials ruling the pass incomplete.

But the turnovers eventually caught up with New England.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the half, Maye was strip-sacked and Buffalo recovered. The turnover was Maye's eighth giveaway of the season, the most in the NFL at that point.

Buffalo capitalized.

A 50-yard catch-and-run by Khalil Shakir put the Bills in position, and Allen eventually powered his way into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to tie the game at 14-14.

The Patriots had one final opportunity before halftime, but it turned into another chaotic sequence.

Maye was intercepted with only seconds remaining, giving Buffalo an opportunity to take the lead. The Bills moved into position for a field goal, and a 27-yard kick put Buffalo ahead 17-14 with just three seconds remaining.

It was a frustrating end to a half in which New England had otherwise played well.

Maye has made several impressive plays with both his arm and legs, including the touchdown pass to Doubs and a number of key scrambles. But the giveaways remain the biggest concern.

The Patriots have now watched Maye commit another pair of turnovers, and Buffalo has been able to turn those mistakes into points.

At the same time, New England's defense has done a good job against Allen and the Bills offense. The Patriots have generated pressure, forced a Cook fumble and made several key third-down stops.

Carlton Davis also made an important play to bring down Cook, while the Patriots have had strong contributions from Ponder and Byard.

With Christian Gonzalez unavailable, New England's secondary has had a difficult assignment against Allen and Buffalo's collection of playmakers. DJ Moore has also been dealing with a shoulder injury and is questionable to return.

Despite the mistakes, the Patriots remain very much in this game.

They have moved the ball, made aggressive decisions on fourth down and repeatedly responded whenever Buffalo appeared ready to seize control.

The biggest question coming out of halftime is whether New England can eliminate the mistakes.

If Maye can protect the football, the Patriots have shown enough offensively to stay right there with Buffalo.

But against a team led by Josh Allen, giving the Bills extra possessions is a dangerous game to play.

New England trails 17-14 at halftime, with another 30 minutes left to decide it.