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Cast-offs Hogan, Lewis key to Patriots' return to Super Bowl

Greg M. Cooper / USA TODAY Sports

Chris Hogan caught a team-high nine passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the New England Patriots to victory in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

Last week, it was running back Dion Lewis leading the way and becoming the first player in NFL history to score a touchdown rushing, receiving, and on a return in a playoff game.

Two cast-offs turning in the biggest performances of their careers to propel the Patriots to the Super Bowl. It's not supposed to be this easy. The NFL is the most competitive league in pro sports. Every team pours over film searching for hidden gems. Yet the Patriots find them over and over.

Is it Belichick's keen eye, Brady's ability to get the most from his teammates, or both?

The Patriots are Hogan's fifth NFL team. He didn't catch a pass for the first three, then toiled in Buffalo for three seasons, averaging just under 20 yards receiving per game over that span.

In March, the Patriots signed Hogan to an inexpensive three-year deal despite his restricted free-agent status with the Bills, a rare move for an NFL team. The Bills declined to match the offer.

The Bills didn't make the playoffs, in large part because they lacked receiving depth.

Hogan will play in his first Super Bowl in two weeks.

So will Lewis, a player who joined the Patriots with even less fanfare than Hogan.

The Patriots are Lewis' fourth NFL team. He started his career as a fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, then was traded to the Cleveland Browns, then cut, then cut again by the Indianapolis Colts.

It's not like any of those teams could use an elusive tailback with good hands, right?

As they have so often over their Super Bowl years, the Patriots found a hidden gem in Lewis, signing him to a reserve/future contract in late 2014. There was the hiccup of a torn ACL last season, but the Patriots knew they had something special and stuck with him. They were rewarded with Lewis' record-setting performance in the Divisional Round.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame one day. Part of the reason why is the dozens of players no one else wanted who suddenly mattered when they put on the Patriots' blue, red, and silver.

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