COMMENTARY
Roughly 30 million viewers tuned in to watch the Patriots play the Cowboys last Sunday evening, which earned TV ratings as high as any regular-season game aired by Fox since 1996. This coming Sunday the Pats will likely do huge numbers again, taking the national stage for their fifth prime-time contest of the campaign. Appearances in four of five Super Bowls, among 14 only-show-in-town playoff games along the way, tend to expand a team’s public profile, too.
Add to all that exposure a brand of team-building that emphasizes roster depth while celebrating specialists and it’s not easy to exist too far under the radar as a member of football’s most-envied franchise.