And there it is.

When seeing the box last night containing the new Super Bowl rings to be distributed to the New England Patriots, the jokes emerged about the presence of a 28-3 reference somewhere on the ring. I went with the obvious, low-hanging-fruit suggestion that 28-3 should be etched onto the ring somewhere. The Patriots opted for something more subtle.

Via Darren Rovell of ESPN.com, the Patriots have confirmed that each ring has 283 diamonds.

It’s obviously no coincidence. And it’s also not really a slap at the Falcons; they know very well they blew a 28-3 lead. But the Patriots came back from that deficit, so 28-3 is more of a rallying cry for them than a shot fired at the Falcons.

While it may not supplant “do your job,” the comeback from a 28-3 hole late in the third quarter shows what can actually happen when the focus remains on solely and exclusively on getting the job done regardless of the dire nature of any situation. Or something.