Sports Illustrated's NFL playoff preview issue hit shelves Tuesday, and as usual, the publication gave a player from its Super Bowl pick the cover photo.
The Patriots earned that honor, but somewhat surprisingly, the player selected was not Tom Brady. Instead, it was Vince Wilfork — a so-called "weapon of mass obstruction."
The cover was the 23rd time that a Patriot has been featured, the sixth-most for an NFL franchise, according to The Boston Globe. No defensive tackle has graced the front of the publication since 2008.
SI's Peter King picked the Patriots to beat the Packers 30-24 in the big game, even calling the squad "a better team than the 2007 team that entered the Super Bowl 18–0."
See the cover below, and view a full-sized image here.
