FOXBORO — Throughout his career, Tom Brady has made it a point to get recognition for the guys that keep him upright, whether it be during his news conferences or even in a national television commercial (remember the five layers of protection?)

It’s only fair. After all, the Patriots’ offensive linemen take on some big, quick bodies who are gunning for the star quarterback, and it’s their job to ensure that Brady can make the precision strikes that have become his trademark.

And they’re also asked to open holes for Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris, New England’s primary ballcarriers.

Over the last three seasons, the offensive line has done a commendable job of making sure Brady’s uniform stays as clean as possible. In each of those years, Brady has been sacked just 26 times, an average of just 1.6 per game.

But this year, they’ve stepped it up. Through three games, Brady’s been sacked three times. The team record for fewest sacks allowed in a season is 14, set in 1977, when there were just 14 games.

The fewest for a 16-game slate is 22, set in 1994.

Brady wasn’t taken down once in the season opener against the Jets, and had so much time on some of his throws he could have popped some popcorn and watched everything unfold before selecting a receiver.

And the runing game’s doing pretty well, too, gaining more yardage each week — 134 total yards in New York, 144 against the Chargers and 177 against the Bills — and averaging 4.3 yards per carry.

It was the first thing Brady talked about yesterday during his midweek press conference.

“(The offensive line) should never go unnoticed. Really, they set the tone for the entire offense,” he said. “The more that those guys are into it and playing great, the more that we can establish running the football, which opens up play-action passes.”

The protection Brady’s been getting is reflected in his completion percentage. Always an accurate passer — his career mark was 61.9 coming into this season — he is on an historic pace this year.

At 70-for-88, Brady is making good on nearly 80 percent of his pass attempts. The league record for a season is 70.55, set in 1982 by the Bengals’ Ken Anderson. The New England franchise record, held by Brady, is the 63.9 percent he posted in his first season as starter, 2001.

Granted, the talented receivers catching the ball this season may be helping those numbers, but more time to scan the field means more time to make the best possible decision.

After Sunday’s win over the Bills, Brady said the key to the game was the play of the front five.

“The way they performed was exceptional,” he said, using one of the many superlatives he’s pulled out for the line. “It’s kind of what they’ve been doing all year, but they were doing such a good job run-blocking … and they did a great job of pass-protection. That allowed us to hold onto the ball a little longer.”

Brady had enough time to double-pump before tossing up his beautiful sideline pass for Randy Moss in the fourth quarter, a 45-yard touchdown strike that sealed the day’s scoring.

Four of the Pats’ offensive linemen — left tackle Matt Light, left guard Logan Mankins, center Dan Koppen, and right tackle Nick Kaczur — have been playing together for a couple of years and are well-versed in both longtime offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia’s teachings and the New England offensive scheme.

And even though there’s been a different player at right guard for each game — regular starter Stephen Neal was in for game one, but a shoulder injury has had him on the sidelines the last two weeks, leaving Billy Yates and Russ Hochstein to man the spot in weeks two (Yates) and three — there has been no dropoff. Neal, Yates and Hochstein also have several years’ service with the Patriots.

With New England, position versatility is key, and the depth of the unit has served it well thus far.

“Absolutely,” Bill Belichick said this week. “Anytime a player steps in there and plays well for you, you feel good about your depth at that position. It’s always good. As much as you hate to see a player go out, it’s encouraging to see another player step in and do a good job. It gives you more confidence in him and your depth at that position and the overall consistency you can maintain as a team.”

smanza@projo.com