Chris Hogan On Big Day Against Bills: 'It's Always Fun To Go Against A Former Team'
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Normally, you'd expect the Patriots to downplay (or utterly dismiss) the idea that they had any kind of added motivation to play better against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday than they did in Week 4 at Gillette Stadium. Receiver Chris Hogan, however, made a tacit admission that he and the team entered New Era Field with a little something extra.
Hogan caught a beautiful 53-yard rainbow from Tom Brady near the end of the first quarter and galloped safely into the end zone for his second touchdown of the season to put the Patriots up 14-3. He caught all four of his targets for 91 yards against his former club, who saw Hogan leave for the Patriots via free agency in the offseason.
When asked if it felt gratifying to put up a strong performance in the rematch against his former team, Hogan did not hesitate to admit that it did.
"Yeah, especially after the first game that we had against [the Bills]," said Hogan. "It wasn't my best game and it wasn't our best game as a team all around, so to come up here ... I thought everyone played really well all-around.
"It's always fun to go against a former team."
Hogan credited Brady for anticipating his separation from the Bills secondary and throwing him a perfect ball.
"[There was a] good chance that maybe if I had a good release at the line that the ball was going to come to me," said Hogan after the game. "Once I got off the line and looked back, the ball was already in the air. It seemed like the ball was in the air for a really long time. ... Tom made an awesome throw. [I] didn't even have to stop."
Clearly, Brady's presence has completely opened the floodgates for the Patriots offense. Considering how No. 12 has played in just four games, the team would have had a good chance to scratch at least 17 points across the scoreboard in their 16-0 loss in Week 4. That doesn't mean that Hogan didn't enter Sunday's game with some added motivation - it showed in plain sight during his touchdown celebration.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.