The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles are set to meet at Super Bowl LII in Minnesota, the setting for a battle between two No. 1 seeds that stormed their way through both the regular season and the postseason.
Naturally, both teams have players at the top of their games - but these four are in particularly scintillating form heading into the big one.
Danny Amendola
Amendola was the hero for the Patriots in their stunning AFC Championship Game comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, catching two touchdowns and converting on a crucial 3rd-and-18 in the fourth quarter.
The wideout had a relatively quiet regular season, though he filled in admirably for Julian Edelman and racked up nearly 700 yards. But Amendola has really turned it on in the playoffs. His two touchdowns made him the star of the AFC title game, and he was actually even more productive in the divisional-round victory against the Tennessee Titans, catching 11 passes for 112 yards.
No Super Bowl player may be in better form than New England's diminutive slot receiver.
Nick Foles
Seriously, who saw this coming from Foles?
The backup quarterback came out hot in his first start in relief of Carson Wentz, tossing four touchdowns and re-energizing the Eagles in Week 15. However, his play quickly dropped off in the next two games, and few believed he was capable of maximizing the talent around him come playoff time.
How wrong we were. Foles kicked off the postseason with a low-key solid performance in the divisional round against the Falcons, completing nearly 77 percent of his passes while under consistent pressure from Atlanta's pass rush.
He really took flight in the NFC Championship Game, putting on one of the best playoff performances from a quarterback in quite some time. The veteran eviscerated the lauded Minnesota Vikings defense to the tune of 352 yards and three touchdowns while completing nearly 79 percent of his passes.
James White
White is the reigning scoring king of the NFL postseason.
The running back exploded onto the scene thanks to a three-touchdown performance in Super Bowl LI, and that came after he had a receiving score in the divisional round.
White has continued his hot streak into this postseason, racking up two touchdowns against the Titans and one against Jacksonville.
If you want a sure bet to get on the scoreboard in Super Bowl LII, look no further.
Fletcher Cox
Cox's impact doesn't always show up on the stat sheet, but no defender enters Super Bowl LII in better form than the Eagles' monstrous defensive lineman.
While the 27-year-old has one sack and 10 total tackles through two games, his most impressive stat is the fact Philadelphia has held opposing offenses to a combined 17 (!) points this postseason.
Of course, the rest of the Eagles' defense deserves a ton of credit, but the team's scheme starts and ends with Cox.
The Patriots' game plan will center around stopping Cox from disrupting both the run and pass game with consistent interior pressure - an unenviable task for Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia.
(Photos courtesy: Getty)
