Sports Illustrated unveils Patriots, Eagles Super Bowl covers

It is hype time for Super Bowl LII, which means Sports Illustrated has both the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots covered … literally.

There’s one way to avoid the dreaded Sports Illustrated cover jinx, for those who believe in such things, and that’s to come up with individual covers for both the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. That’s what the legendary publication did as it is looks back on how each team made its way to a date in Super Bowl LII.

On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated unveiled not one but two different covers to preview the “Big Game.” But make no mistake. There’s the same prediction on each version. It states that the defending Super Bowl champions will knock off Doug Pederson’s club, 27-16, at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Still, there’s the luxury of having to take a look at each edition. The reigning NFC champions are represented by reserve quarterback Nick Foles. With starter Carson Wentz going down in Week 14, the super sub became Nick-On-The-Spot and now has the Birds on the verge of the franchise’s first NFL title since 1960.

Then there’s the other guy. And he proved on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars that he’s not only a cut above but above a cut. Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady rallied his team from 10 points down in the fourth quarter and has the team in position to win a Super Bowl for the third time in four years — for the second time in franchise history.

So given the picture of Brady and his team, is this officially a backhanded compliment to the reigning Super Bowl champions? Just ponder the fact that this franchise is headed back to the “Big Game” for the eighth time under head coach Bill Belichick.

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So there you have it. Two different views. And the Patriots are Sports Illustrated‘s pick.