After a long, gruelling regular season — which was extended to 17 games for the first time ever — and an unpredictable postseason that seemed to just keep blowing our minds, the stage for Super Bowl LVI is finally set. In line with the twists of turns of this surprising season, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will go head-to-head for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the SoFi Stadium on February 13th.

It’s undoubtedly a matchup that nobody truly could have guessed prior to the postseason getting underway last month, with the Rams and the Bengals both upsetting the Betdaq betting markets with shock victories over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs to win the NFC and the AFC Championships, respectively.

While all the talk in the build–up to the big game will be about the battle between quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford and their star wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Ja’Marr Chase, we thought we’d take a look at four players who might not get as much recognition ahead of the Super Bowl, but still have the on-field presence to make a difference. Read on find out more!

Leonard Floyd – Rams LB

A player who will likely be overshadowed by the likes of Aaron Donald and Von Miller in the chat around the Rams’ defensive line pre-match, Leonard Floyd will also be a key factor in stopping the Bengals’ offence in Los Angeles. The 29-year-old linebacker has 9.5 sacks, the second most in the Rams’ roster, 70 tackles, one forced fumble and one interception. This is a top five defensive line going up against one of the worst offences in the NFL. Burrow has been sacked 55 times this season and nine times against the Titans in the Divisional Round alone, Floyd will be doing all he can to ensure he can get to the 25-year-old QB and make his Super Bowl a nightmare, while also trying to put a halt to the Bengalsand Joe Mixon’s running game.

Joe Mixon – Bengals RB

Speaking of Mixon, let’s take a look at how he can sway the Super Bowl in Cincinnati’s favour. We already know that he’ll be up against it when faced with this incredible Rams DLine, but that won’t faze the 25-year-old, 2017 second-round draft pick. Mixon has already racked up 1,395 rushing yards this season (including the playoffs), scoring 13 rushing touchdowns for the Bengals — most notably the 16-yard run for Cincinnati’s crucial third-quarter touchdown in the 19-16 victory over the Titans. He proved against the Chiefs that he’s a tough player to bring down, rushing 88yds and averaging 4.2yds per attempt. It will certainly be an interesting battle between Mixon and the aforementioned Floyd.

Odell Beckham Jr – Rams WR

After struggling with injuries and lack of form, many said that Odell Beckham Jr. was finished when he demanded to leave the Cleveland Browns earlier this season. But once again the wide receiver has proved all his doubters wrong. The 29-year-old scored five touchdowns in eight regular season games with the Rams to help topple the Arizona Cardinals at the top of the NFC West and he has continued in fine fettle into the postseason —scoring his first playoff TD against the Cardinals in Wild Card weekend before making an impressive nine catches for 113yds in the NFC Championship game victory over the San Francisco 49ers. If the Bengals’ defence is putting too much onus on Kupp, OBJ could be allowed the space to cause some real damage.

Mike Hilton – Bengals CB

Mike Hilton has had quite the season. The five-year veteran cornerback has played every game for the Bengals this year, racking up over 800 snaps in the process. He registered a career high of 66 tackles and even scored his first pick-six against the Pittsburgh Steelers, his former team, as he claimed Ben Roethlisberger’s pass out of the air and returned it for a 24-yard TD. Hilton has made four pass defences already this postseason, including a crucial interception against the Titans. He could be tasked with taming Kupp, and if he can cover every blade of grass to stop the ball from getting to the wideout as he has done so many times this season then it might just be the Bengals’ night.