Just flipping through the endless amount of football preview magazines (fantasy included) at your local bookstore (yes, they still exist), it’s clear which team is the favorite to win Super Bowl LI: The Patriots.

This is nothing new. It’s pretty much been this way since the Patriots won their first — Super Bowl XXXVI – 15 years ago. Since that shocking upset, the only shock comes when a prognosticator picks a team other than the Foxborough FC to take home the title.

The Patriots are riding streaks of 15 consecutive winning seasons, 13 seasons with at least 10 wins, and six with at least 12 victories.

During this magical run, Bill Belichick’s clubs have won 13 of the past 15 AFC East titles, including seven straight, earned six trips to the Super Bowl — and won it four times. They’ve been to five straight AFC Championship games.

One of the reasons for their sustained success is they never rest on their laurels. Complacency never seems to set in with the Patriots.

That was clear after they wrapped up their trip to last year’s AFC title game.

“Unbelievable,’’ said receiver Julian Edelman. “People don’t realize how tough it is to get there. It’s an unbelievable honor to play with these guys and to compete for an AFC Championship again. You can’t take it for granted. We know how hard it is to get there.’’

Tom Brady, the field general throughout this run, said, “It’s pretty hard to do, man.’’

The players take their cue from the coaching staff, which reminds them there are no carryover points from season to season. Everybody gets a clean slate on reporting day.

“What you did last year doesn’t get you a darn thing this year,’’ running backs coach Ivan Fears, who has spent 20 of 26 NFL seasons in New England, said on the eve of training camp. “Everybody starts all over again.’’

By any measuring stick, the Patriots’ dominant run is among the most impressive in NFL history. A look at where they stack up:

■ The 49ers collected 16 playoff appearances during an 18-year span (1981-98) that included 10 trips to the NFC title game and five Super Bowl crowns. The run, under the guidance of two Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Joe Montana and Steve Young) and two superb coaches (Hall of Famer Bill Walsh and George Seifert), is the gold standard.

■ The Cowboys made the postseason in 17 of 18 years from 1966-83, reaching the conference title game 12 times, and winning a pair of Super Bowls. Dallas also had a mini-run of domination in the early 1990s when it claimed three Super Bowls.

■ The Steelers won four Super Bowls during an incredible stretch between 1972-79 when they made the postseason every year and reached the AFC title game six times.

■ The Redskins won three Super Bowls between 1982 and 1991 with three different quarterbacks (Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien).

One important distinction between the Patriots and their dynastic competition: New England has pulled off its remarkable run during the salary cap era (introduced in 1994), when it’s harder to keep a team’s core together.