FOXBORO -- The second half of the year didn't go exactly how Chris Hogan had hoped.
Hogan suffered a shoulder injury on Oct. 29, the game before the bye week. He missed the next four games before returning in Miami on a Monday night in Week 14, but he wasn't himself, so he sat out the remaining three games of the year. Finally, he was able to return last Saturday in the AFC divisional round.
The receiver played 67 offensive snaps and finished with one catch for four yards, but it was a touchdown in the Patriots win over Tennessee.
"Obviously, for me coming back after missing a couple [games], I was pretty excited to be out there," Hogan said Wednesday. "So maybe the first couple plays, maybe your adrenaline's going, but once you settle in, you just fall back on the things you've been working on this entire year and just trust your ability." Although he didn't light up the stat sheet, he contributed in other ways, including a huge block on Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard in the second quarter.
"Yeah, that definitely helped kind of get back into the swing of things," Hogan said. "I was just trying to make a good, clean block, and I was able to spring Dion [Lewis] for a few more yards."
Hogan admitted missing the games was frustrating, but he made sure to do what he could to make sure when he came back he was in tune with everything that is going on.
"We put a lot into this and to miss those games and not be out there with the guys is definitely frustrating," he said. "But once you kind of get over that frustration, you do whatever you can to A, get yourself better and get back on the field, and B, just making sure that you're in tune with everything that's going on." As for this week in the AFC championship, Hogan will likely have a difficult matchup facing Jalen Ramsey or A.J. Bouye.
"They're definitely some of the best corners in the league," Hogan said. "They've gone out there consistently, throughout the entire season, and been very productive and played very well. We know that, and we're going to have to go out there and play hard and trust in ourselves and trust in our offense."
