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This is my 21st season covering the Patriots. (I’ve been on the beat, on and off, since 2001.) In no particular order, here are 15 behind-the-scenes things I’ve learned along the way:

• The best press box spreads are in Dallas and San Francisco. The Cowboys have a wall of snacks, a burrito station, and beer taps in the press box. The 49ers have a carving station and a similarly ridiculous array of food. In other places, you occasionally might feel the need to stop off on the way to the stadium to grab a snack. Not in Dallas or San Francisco. You are going to eat well if you have to cover a game in either city.

• The smallest visiting team locker room is in Buffalo. There’s a lot to like about covering games in Western New York, but trying to navigate in such close quarters after a game can get a little dicey. Everyone is in a rush to leave, and you want to avoid the mess of equipment bags on the floor because there’s support staff trying to do their job. My best advice? Park yourself in front of one or two guys and wait there for them to talk. (Like I said, there’s still a lot to like about covering games in Buffalo. Although I’m hoping they keep the same level of charm in their new building.)

• Parking in Miami is always an adventure. I’ve been covering games in South Florida for almost two decades now, and I’m not sure the media parking lot has been in the same place twice. You circle the stadium sitting in traffic, and afterward, it feels like all of the gates are shut by the time you’re done writing and have to leave. Also, the pregame spread is a little lacking. Can’t beat the weather, though.

• The NFC North is the nicest division in football. Filled with good people in all four cities. Pleasant, helpful, and welcoming. Not everything is always going to go right on the road, of course. But in my experience, when something does go awry in Minnesota, Green Bay, Chicago, or Detroit, there’s always some very nice person there with a smile who can try and make things right. Or at least point you toward someone who can help you.

• Navigating the route from the visitors locker room to the press box in Denver can be an adventure if you need to get a couple of quotes while you’re writing on deadline. On Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, I hoofed it from the press box to the visitors locker room — which is on the other side of the stadium — and back again, all in the name of wedging a few quotes in before the paper closed third edition. Long way; maybe the longest press box to locker room trek in the league. And the altitude is no joke.

• On the other hand, Denver’s pregame spread that night was absolutely legendary. Likely a byproduct of having to work on Christmas Eve, but the food service that night was Michelin-star worthy. Absolutely the best. The takeaway here? If you have to cover a game on a holiday, Denver might be your best bet.

• There’s nothing like being able to walk to and from a stadium that’s downtown, especially on a crisp October morning. The AFC North and AFC South have a lot of downtown venues. Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis are four that come to mind. Nothing like walking through parking lots, getting a whiff of the tailgate while listening to music to get you going on a Sunday morning. Love it. Stop off somewhere and get a coffee, talk with fans on the way to the game, and settle in for a day of football. Can’t beat that.

• Open-air press boxes are the best. Covering football, you’re resigned to the fact that outdoor stadiums are going to have press boxes shielded from the elements. But a good press box in a dome — and nothing between you and the rest of the world — is a game-changer. You get to experience the atmosphere and the noise, and get a feel for the game in a way that you can’t when you’re sitting under glass. Dallas, Minnesota, New Orleans, and Las Vegas all come to mind.

• If I have to have a stopover, my favorite place is the Detroit Metro Airport. Detroit is low-key one of the better airports in the country. Easy to navigate, wide concourses, good dining options, a piano player going all the time in the food court, plenty of charging stations, and a hotel connected to the airport where you can check out, go through security, and go right to your gate in a blink.

Plus, there’s this tunnel between terminals that is really cool.

Right? If I have to make a stopover on a trip anywhere, I’m angling for Detroit.

• I learned this one from the late, great Danny Pires, formerly of the New Bedford Standard-Times: The best thing to do if you’re a reporter and don’t need to file something immediately after the game? Find your way downstairs and try to find a quiet, out-of-the-way spot in the area in between the tunnel off the field and the locker room. That’s where you get the raw, unfiltered postgame emotion. That’s when you get Terrell Suggs in a gleefully profane exchange with New England fans, or Mike Vrabel shaking hands and hugging players. So much of the NFL product is stylized and sanitized for your protection as a consumer. That’s the close-up, real stuff there.

• The cornbread served before games at Gillette Stadium is a game-changer. It’s in the top 5 when it comes to the best pregame food options in the league.

• Covering games in New Orleans is a blast, because it’s … well … New Orleans. But the view from the press box can give you vertigo. The Superdome press box used to have some of the best views in the NFL — down low, and right at the 50-yard line. Then, they bumped it upstairs near the roof. It’s still a special place to see a game, especially because it’s an open-air press box and the fact that it’s one of the best road trips of the season. (Shout out to Hurts Donut.) But that view is a bit extreme.

• Keeping in mind I haven’t been to a non-Patriots’ Super Bowl, my vote for three best Super Bowl cities are New Orleans, Phoenix/Glendale, and Indianapolis. New Orleans is way out in front, and it’s not even close. Part of it was because it was the first Super Bowl I covered. Part of it was because it was (still) the most memorable Super Bowl I covered. Swear to you, being there for that moment in time was like witnessing the moon landing. It was absolutely surreal. (Indy is great because everything is downtown, and you can pretty much walk to everything you need to get to. And the folks in Arizona were really great as well.)

• In Kansas City, don’t linger in the press box. After the AFC title game at Arrowhead a few years back, me and a colleague were writing, writing, writing after the game, our heads down and pounding away on our laptops. Before we knew it, we were among the only people left. With no announcement or warning, they turned the lights out on us, and we had to navigate down the stairs and out of the building using an iPhone flashlight. A little surreal.

• Don’t step on the Raiders’ team logo that’s on the carpet in the middle of the locker room. This may have changed over the last year-plus, but after the New England-Las Vegas game a couple of years ago, I was poised to go into the Raiders locker room to talk to ex-Patriots like Brian Hoyer, Jakobi Meyers, and Adam Butler. A helpful Vegas writer advised me to steer clear of the logo — not unlike the rule in hockey locker rooms. Needless to say, I took a wide berth if I had to cross the room. (Turns out that was one of my favorite postgame stories from an otherwise forgettable season.)

A sign from the road earlier this season that spoke to me. With the playoffs on the way sooner rather than later, feels like it makes sense.

Hogan and I reconnected for a new episode of “The Patriots Report” where we kicked around the Jets game (and the Jets as a franchise a little, to be honest), and looked ahead to Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. Hogan has a simple, straightforward blueprint for the rest of the way.

Hogan also has some feelings about Marcus Jones not being named a Pro Bowler.

• On Friday, I was in Foxborough for media availability. When the doors to the locker room opened, both Stefon Diggs and Christian Barmore talked about the charges against each of them, in separate Q&A sessions with reporters.

• On Friday, veteran linebacker Robert Spillane was on the practice field for the first time in a few weeks. Even though he was ultimately ruled out for this weekend’s game against the Dolphins, it seems like there’s real optimism about where he’s at healthwise as the playoffs come into view.

• Speaking of the postseason, Sunday’s contest against Miami gives the Patriots a chance to work on a few things that need fine tuning, including the run defense. (De’Von Achane might not play, which could very well render that point moot, but it’s a good test for them, regardless.)

• I’ve asked Drake Maye about the MVP race and his place in it a couple of times over the last couple of months. I did it again on Wednesday. (I also asked him about Matthew Stafford.)

• I legit love doing the mailbag for a few reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I get to fire off a few hot takes along the way. This week, my favorite might have been the query on Kyle Dugger. This team could use a Dugger-type right about now when it comes to defending elite tight ends. That’s no slight on Jaylinn Hawkins or Craig Woodson; it’s just that Dugger has been pretty good at doing just that over the course of his career with the Patriots. Anyway, here’s this week’s mailbag.

• This was cool, because it started out as a straightforward notebook on the return of Will Campbell, and the locker room scene added more humor. Enjoyed it.

• This took a couple of weeks, but it was a really fun one that was sparked by a question from a couple of readers: What goes on inside the blue medical tent? Got some great answers from a handful of players, including kicker Andy Borregales.

• This week’s “Between the Hashmarks” had me looking at the road ahead after the blowout of the Jets … specifically, what might await the Patriots when it comes to the regular-season finale. “[The Dolphins] are trying to ruin our season,” linebacker Jack Gibbens told me. “We can’t let that happen.”

• Heading into an uncertain 24 or so hours, but we should have a good idea of the road ahead come Sunday at about 7:30 p.m. The Patriots could end up with any one of the top 3 seeds; my guess is that they land on No. 2, but we’ll see how it all plays out on Sunday. Oh, and Hogan and I are looking to connect for a new episode of “The Patriots Report” on Tuesday morning.

Popped this up on Bluesky on New Year’s Eve, but it bears repeating here: Thanks to everyone for another awfully fun year talking football (or any other topic, really) over the last 12 months. One of the best parts of this job is interacting with readers and finding shared connections. You guys make it a blast every day. Seriously, this is a weird job where you occasionally operate in a vacuum. So anyone who clicked through, or shared a link, contributed to the mailbag, listened to a podcast, left a like, subscribed to the Globe, or whatever ... just know it was all appreciated. Here’s to more fun in 2026.

Until next time

Sign at the entrance to the Ace Hotel in New York City.