We can put Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones' game in an elite class of postseason performances by a wide receiver.
A few hours later, the New England Patriots' Chris Hogan exactly matched his feat.
Jones finished with nine receptions, 180 yards and two touchdown receptions, and Hogan put up the exact same numbers. They may not be the best receiving games in NFL history, but there are multiple lists showing the impressiveness of both receivers' work.
They are two of the five receivers in the Super Bowl era to have that many receptions, average at least 20 yards per catch and record two touchdowns. The other three are:
Ricky Sanders, who had nine receptions, 193 yards and two touchdown catches for the 1987 Redskins in their 42-10 win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. He’s a notch up on Jones and Hogan, having recorded his nine catches on 11 targets. Jones and Hogan both did it on 12 targets.
Randy Moss, who had nine catches for 188 yards and two scores for the Vikings in a loss to the Rams in the 1999 NFC divisional round. That one would rank low on the value scale, given that both touchdowns came in the final four minutes, with the Rams up by 24.
Reggie Wayne, who would be the standard setter, with 10 receptions (on 11 targets), 221 yards and two touchdowns in the 2004 AFC wild-card round. Both touchdowns came with the Colts up by 18 points.
What also makes Jones an all-time postseason receiver is this. Sunday’s game wasn’t even the one with his most receiving yards. He had 182 receiving yards in a loss to the 49ers in the 2012 NFC Championship Game.
According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Jones is one of three players with multiple postseason games of 180 receiving yards. The other two are Hall of Famers Fred Biletnikoff and Jerry Rice. With all due respect to Jones, we would rank both of them ahead of him. Both of Biletnikoff’s came in 1968 with the Raiders. Rice had his 13 years apart, one with the 1988 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII against the Bengals, and one with the 2001 Raiders in the wild card against the Jets.
What about Hogan? His 180 yards are the most by any undrafted player in NFL postseason history and also set a Patriots record. It also surpassed his entire college output, as he played one year of college football at Monmouth, recording 147 yards on 12 catches.
They'll get a chance to top their feats in the Super Bowl.