OAKLAND — It's been a back-and-forth first half up in the Bay, as the Raiders lead 13-10 heading into halftime.

Here are a few notes from the first 30 minutes.

AN INAUSPICIOUS START

Los Angeles won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, but the choice didn't quite work out as planned early.

When the Raiders used an empty backfield formation to spread out the Rams' defense, quarterback Derek Carr connected with tight end Jared Cook over the middle. The catch and run ended up going 45 yards to put Oakland in the red zone.

Then running back Marshawn Lynch showed he can still go "Beastmode." On 2nd-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Lynch powered his way into the end zone after first getting hit at about the four-yard line. With a little help from his offensive line, Lynch kept his legs churning and fell across the goal line to give Oakland a 7-0 lead.

Los Angeles' offense also didn't get off to the hottest of starts, going three-and-out on its first possession.

BUT THEN…

Punter Johnny Hekker boomed his first attempt of the year 62 yards, and with a 10-yard return Oakland started at its own five-yard line. Outside linebacker Samson Ebukam made a pair of nice plays in a row, first touching down Carr for a sack in the backfield after the quarterback slipped and fell. And then Ebukam tackled running back Doug Martin for a one-yard loss on a short swing pass.

With a long way to go, Oakland came up well short on third down and punted.

GURLEY'S FIRST TOUCHDOWN

Running back Todd Gurley led the league last season with 19 total touchdowns, and picked up right where he left off on Los Angeles' second drive. After the Rams moved into the red zone with a pair of completions from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, Gurley came in motion from being split out wide with Goff in shotgun. The quarterback received the snap and gave a shovel pass right to Gurley, who kept going to his right and weaved his way into the end zone for a touchdown.

With Zuerlein's extra point, Los Angeles tied the score at seven.

INFIELD DIRT STRIKES

Because the Raiders share a stadium with MLB's Oakland Athletics, there's still infield dirt spanning a significant part of the field at the Oakland Coliseum early in the season. That may or may not have had an effect on Zuerlein, who missed a 46-yard field goal wide right midway through the second quarter. The field goal would have tied the score at 10.

JOHN JOHNSON INT

With the Raiders on the move once again, safety John Johnson came up with the Rams' first takeaway of the season in a big moment.

On 2nd-and-10 from the Los Angeles 21, Carr floated a ball up to Cook — who was running a fly route down the right side. With strong coverage, Johnson snatched the ball out of the air before it could get to Oakland's tight end, downing the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

The Rams would turn the takeaway into points with a 20-yard Zuerlein field goal.