Peyton Manning, Tom Brady on SI cover before AFC Championship Game

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated ahead of their 17th matchup in this year’s AFC Championship Game.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week ahead of this year’s AFC Championship Game.

The New England Patriots will face the Denver Broncos on Sunday for the right to advance to Super Bowl 50. The game is the 17th meeting between Brady and Manning.

Brady and the Patriots lead Manning 11–5 in head-to-head meetings, four of which have been for the AFC crown.

SI’s Greg Bedard previews the matchup, writing that the Patriots’ adaptable offense will be the reason New England is able to overcome Denver and advance to its second straight Super Bowl.

• A history of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady’s meetings

Also featured in this issue is a regional cover story on how Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals trumped a Hail Mary to overtake the Green Bay Packers in a wild finish to their NFC divisional playoff game.

The following locations will receive the Brady-Manning cover: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri.

The Fitzgerald cover will be delivered to the following locations: Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Alaska.