New England Patriots: 5 observations from the AFC East clincher

FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 23: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots communicates at the line of scrimmage during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 23: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots communicates at the line of scrimmage during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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New England Patriots
New England Patriots Chris Hogan(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

What’s up with Hogan?

One of the players the New England Patriots need to step up in the absence of Josh Gordon is Chris Hogan.

On Sunday, Hogan simply wasn’t a factor.

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Part of that was due to the heavy running game, and some of it has to do with Tom Brady not looking his way.  Whether that is because of him not getting separation or something else, we don’t know.  However, it was obvious Hogan was frustrated at something during the game on Sunday.

After the team failed to convert a third down, Chris Hogan was seen slamming his helmet down.  Then was spotted sitting alone on the bench a few times.  When asked about why he was sitting on the other side of the bench, Hogan chalked it up to superstition?

“Yeah, we were playing well sitting over there so I thought I would see if I could continue it,” Hogan explained, as transcribed by WEEI.

Really?  Okay, we’ll buy that for now.

For a player on a contract year, it has to be frustrating for Chris Hogan not to be more involved than he is right now…right?

"“Not at all, we won,” Hogan said following the game.  “Proud of this team.  We had to battle a couple of weeks and a couple frustrating losses and we came out here and got the job done.”"

In putting the team first, Chris Hogan is showing what kind of player he is.  But, his body language on the field told another story.  We’ll have to see how this tale plays out the rest of the season and into the playoffs.