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New England Patriots' WR Chris Hogan revels in record-setting night

By Mike Shalin, The Sports Xchange
New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan (15) celebrates a 16-yard touchdown reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter of the AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on January 22, 2017. The winner will move on to play the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Photo by Matthew Healey/ UPI
1 of 5 | New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan (15) celebrates a 16-yard touchdown reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter of the AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on January 22, 2017. The winner will move on to play the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Photo by Matthew Healey/ UPI | License Photo

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Chris Hogan dropped one pass from Tom Brady and was wide open for another that his quarterback threw behind him.

But nothing can even begin to put a damper on the wide receiver's career game.

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"It's been a long journey, but I've worked really hard to get to this point," Hogan said after catching nine passes for a club-record 180 yards and two touchdowns in the New England Patriots' 36-17 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game Sunday night.

"I couldn't be happier that I get to be a part of this team and this whole thing."

After three years in Buffalo, where he caught 77 passes -- six for touchdowns -- over the past two seasons, Hogan signed with New England. He caught 38 passes for 680 yards and four TDs during the regular season and has turned into a postseason star.

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Hogan caught four passes for 95 yards in the division playoff win over the Houston Texans, then had his first career two-touchdown game Sunday. At one point in Sunday's game, he had been targeted eight times and caught all eight for 152 yards and a touchdown in two playoff games.

He has 13 catches on 16 targets in the two postseason games and also finished with that team playoff record.

"It will be something that definitely I'll remember for the rest of my career and probably for the rest of my life," Hogan said. "Someone told me that this is going to be a game that you'll look back on 30 years from now and you'll remember it, exactly what happened."

"I'm glad we got him," said Brady.

Antonio Brown a non-factor

Antonio Brown started his "prep" for the AFC title game by going live on Facebook and embarrassing his coach and his team.

He ended his season catching seven passes, but his 77 yards Sunday night were pretty much meaningless in his team's loud loss.

It was, in short, the latest NFL distraction that preceded a loss, making the distraction seem even larger.

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"You got to go out there and match his intensity," said Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, who drew most of the coverage on Brown. "He's going to come out there ready to play and leave everything on the line. You just got to go out there and complete every play and just play without thinking."

Martellus Bennett lives dream

Tight end Martellus Bennett was dancing, with pompoms, with the Patriots cheerleaders on the field after the game.

"Honestly, over the year I never really felt like the Super Bowl was a possibility," Bennett said. "I was talking to my wife this morning. I'm like, 'I don't really know how to feel about going into this game.' I always dreamed about going to the Super Bowl but it never really felt like an attainable goal in the past because we lost so many games (with the Cowboys, Giants and Bears) and we were never really in position.

"You're just hopeful to go to the playoffs. So this is very special -- it's a dream come true."

Bennett's postgame celebration also included a shot at absent NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

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"Where is he? He's like Waldo right now," said Bennett, who, like Hogan, is in his first season with New England.

Not their night

The Steelers came up one win shy of becoming the first franchise to go to nine Super Bowls -- an honor that now belongs to the Patriots.

"I tip my cap to those guys, they are the champions of the AFC and rightfully so," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin. "Not a lot went our way tonight. Not only in terms of the final score, but just how the game was played. They are to be complimented for that.

"We didn't get the things done that we wanted to get done really, on offense, defense and special teams in a consistent manner for it to be competitive and close. And some of the splash plays that you look for in those competitive and close games, things that we've done during the stretch run that we've had in the second half of the season. Just not enough positive things in terms of the style of play, for those things to unfold. So, the result is the result."

"They just out-executed us," said veteran linebacker James Harrison. "They did a better job of executing their game plan while we did a poor job."

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Added fellow linebacker Arthur Moats: "It comes down to execution. The one time I did beat them, in Buffalo, we executed a lot better and they didn't, but any time you play New England you know they operate with a lot of detail. It's weird. Give them credit. I am not going to make excuses about anything, give them credit.

"Right now, it's just tough to realize it's over, we were having fun. The past 10 or 12 weeks have been fun."

Asked about Brady, safety Mike Mitchell said, "Yeah, he's no joke, man. We knew what it was when we came in here. We were expecting to play the best."

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