FOXBORO — There’s an added sense of urgency that comes with postseason football.

The magnitude of every dropped pass or each missed block is magnified tenfold — instead of a loss, it could mean the end of your season. On the other hand, a fortunate bounce or perfectly executed play at the right time can make you a legend. 

In the past, the Patriots have been able to lean on a bevy of veterans to provide some schooling for the younger players on the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. This year, New England still is rich in postseason experience — 28 of the players on the Patriots roster have played at least one playoff game, while 25 players will be making their first-ever trip to the postseason.

Of the playoff vets, 10 of them have played at least 10 playoff games: Tom Brady (17 games), Kevin Faulk (17), Matt Light (15), Ty Warren (14), Jarvis Green (14) Dan Koppen (12), Randy Moss (11), Stephen Neal (11), Vince Wilfork (11) and Tully Banta-Cain (10) are the senior members of the Patriots playoff crew. In addition, Sunday marks the 20th postseason game as head coach for Bill Belichick, who holds a 15-4 record.

The best way for them to get the message across that things are different in the playoffs? It’s a natural progression. Think of it like an SAT-style analogy: The preseason is to the regular season, as the regular season is to the playoffs.

“You know, when I first got here, coach Belichick told me the levels of play,” said linebacker Jerod Mayo, who will be making his first playoff start Sunday against the Ravens at Gillette Stadium. “It goes preseason to regular season to playoffs, and this is my first time experiencing playoffs. And there is a sense of urgency here.”

“You’re playing the best teams, so I think the biggest difference is there’s less of a margin for error,” said Brady, who has a 14-3 record in the playoffs. “I think you go into these games and you’re playing teams that are the best in the league and have won the most games, so typically they are the ones that make the fewest mistakes and the ones where the yards are hardest to come by. So, our execution has to be better.

“You’re really not going to be given too many plays, so I think that’s … In the experience that I’ve had, you realize have to play a really good game of football to win. You can’t go out there and play subpar and expect to advance.”

Veteran running back Fred Taylor, who played in seven playoff games earlier in his career with Jacksonville, deemed it “grab a young guy” week, with an idea of everyone making sure the younger players get educated about the postseason.

“I think an older player, an experience player like Fred, certainly gives that perspective of you can’t take it for granted,” Belichick said. “You’re in the playoffs. You have an opportunity to extend the season, and it may or may not happen every year, but you can’t count on it, so take advantage of it.

“[You] treat it as a one-game season, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and approach it that way. And I think that’s a good message from a veteran player to a younger player.”

There’s certainly been an uptick in attention. National media outlets have decamped in Foxboro all week, with camera crews from the NFL Network and ESPN on location, while national writers from Sports Illustrated and the New York Times also have been in the locker room.

With the added media and extra dose of hype, the only point of reference for a young player like Mayo is his college experience — in this case, the 2007 SEC Championship Game.

“I feel like I worked hard all year, and I’m approaching this game the same way,” Mayo said. “There’s a lot more media hype and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, everybody has to do their job. The biggest game I’ve ever played in was the SEC Championship Game, so I’m sure this is a huge game and every game is a huge game from this point on.”

Nine of the players on the 53-man roster are rookies, but it’s not just the younger guys who might need a tutorial about how to operate in the playoffs. Some veterans like Sammy Morris (10 seasons, 125 regular-season games), Sam Aiken (seven seasons, 92 regular-season games) and Leigh Bodden (seven years, 90 regular-season games) will be making their first trip to the postseason.

Morris, who missed out on the 2007 postseason because of a chest injury, is “grateful” for the chance to make his first playoff appearance.

“In trying to manage the emotions of this being my first playoff game, I don’t want it to be just one playoff game this year,” Morris said. “But I’m still grateful.”