A victory secured. Another AFC championship. Another trip to the Super Bowl. So the Patriots got to celebrate in a big way after demolishing the Steelers on Sunday. Martellus Bennett, a first-year Patriot who doubted that he’d ever play in a Super Bowl, danced with the cheerleaders.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — We often view the New England Patriots as methodical, almost robotic. Players are replaceable parts in a juggernaut machine, their success primed by a singular, emotionless focus that follows the lead of their head coach, Bill Belichick.

Next Man Up. Do Your Job. On to Cincinnati.

They do their job. They move on to the next opponent. And they seldom break ranks to say anything revealing.

Until Sunday night, that is.

In the aftermath of their 36-17 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game, the Patriots showed their fans – and a nation watching – a very human side.

Hugs. Smiles. More hugs. Jumps of joy. Eyes searching for their family members in the stands. More hugs. More smiles.

Martellus Bennett, first lapping the field and waving his arms to get the fans cheering, then waving pompoms and dancing with the Patriots cheerleaders with Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” cascading down from the speakers.

Even in the locker room, the usual talk about needing to play better, needing to improve, needing to move on, was replaced with handshakes and high fives and more hugs.

Belichick missed Bennett’s dance moves – “We’ll have to get a replay on that,” he said Monday during a conference call with reporters – but he clearly enjoyed watching the celebration on the field of Gillette Stadium. For Belichick and Tom Brady, the victory meant an astounding seventh trip to the Super Bowl, where the Patriots will play the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 5. That’s an accomplishment unrivaled in NFL history.

For Bennett and Chris Long and Chris Hogan and Shea McClellin and Dion Lewis and Eric Rowe and others, it was a moment of deep, personal satisfaction.

Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount holds the AFC championship trophy surrounded by fans after the Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night to advance to the Super Bowl.

“Honestly, over the years, I never really felt like the Super Bowl was a possibility,” said Bennett, in his ninth NFL season but first with the Patriots. “That’s one of your goals. I was talking to my wife this morning and I’m like, ‘I don’t really know how to feel about going into this game.’ I always dreamed about going to the Super Bowl but it never really felt like an attainable goal in the past.

“So this is very special. It’s a dream come true for me.”

Belichick was gratified that his players were sharing that moment.

“Obviously it was a great win for our team and our organization last night, but it’s great to see the players who have worked so hard take so much satisfaction in their relationship with their teammates and the goal that they accomplished last night,” he said Monday. “Another step in a season where the team has already won 16 games but it was another significant step. When you see them reacting and congratulating each other and celebrating like that, you know you have a closeness on the team that is special.

“These guys, they work hard. They put up with a lot from me and they put up with a lot of significant demands and requirements here, but it’s done with the intent to try and produce a good product and a good team. They buy into it. They perform well in critical situations like last night. I take a lot of satisfaction in seeing them achieve that because they’ve worked so hard for it and I think they deserve it, but you’ve got to go out and prove it.”

On Monday, Belichick referred to a book by Jerry Izenberg, a sports writer for the Newark Star-Ledger who has covered every Super Bowl, called “No Medals for Trying.” It could serve as a rallying cry for this franchise – and maybe especially this team.

“This time of year everybody tries hard,” he said. “Everybody has a good team that is still playing. You’re only rewarded for achievement. Last night we were fortunate enough to earn that. It’s a great feeling to see everybody have that kind of interaction with each other and feel so good about their teammates and the guys they’ve worked so hard with.”

Even Belichick showed a human side Sunday night. During one break in the action, Jon Bon Jovi’s hit song “Livin’ On a Prayer” came over the loudspeakers at Gillette. And Bon Jovi, a longtime friend of Belichick’s who was sitting in a luxury box with Donnie Wahlberg and Rob Gronkowski, began leading the crowd in the song.

Asked if he heard that – even in the middle of coaching the biggest game of the season – Belichick said, “Yeah, I was definitely aware of it. Jon, I mean I’ve heard him play that song dozens of times, but he had the place rocking, maybe a little more than we did. Yeah, pretty impressive … Yeah, it was quite a moment, one that you usually don’t see at a professional football game. Yeah, it was special.”

So is this team.

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH