In the Jan. 25, 2016 issue of Sports Illustrated, Greg Bedard predicted the Denver Broncos would lose the AFC Championship to Tom Brady and the England Patriots by a score of 42-17. Bedard almost got the Broncos’ score right. Denver’s defense dominated and the Broncos won 20-18.

I’ve got good news for the superstitious types out there. Bedard is predicting another Broncos loss. And this one is plastered on the cover of the magazine.

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Featured on the cover is a composite photograph of several elite NFL quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. But don’t worry about that SI cover jinx, Broncos fans. Cam Newton is also part of the composite.

The real cover jinx Broncos fan can root for is Bedard’s prediction, a 22-19 Panthers win. It seems that he’s giving the Broncos much more credit this time around.

Bedard isn’t the only expert picking Carolina to win though. There are countless prediction engines, football experts and analysts, and everyday fans with no rooting interest who are calling for a Carolina win.

Here’s a rundown of several of them, beginning with EA Sports, whose Madden NFL 16 simulation has Newton scoring a last-second game-winning touchdown.

Pro Football Reference, a leading football statistics site, gives Carolina a much greater chance to win. They say the Panthers are the 64 percent favorite.

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Solomon Wilcots of CBS Sports and NFL Network, who said earlier this week his heart is with Peyton Manning, is still picking the Panthers to win.

Players still in the league are picking Carolina, as well. Matt Ryan, the only quarterback to beat the Panthers this year thinks they’ll be too much for Denver.

 

LeBron James, inarguably the best basketball player in the NBA over the past decade is picking Carolina, simply because of Cam Newton.

Here’s one good omen for the Broncos, though: AccuScore, which has been correct in every game of the divisional round and the conference championships, give the Broncos the edge by the very slimmest of margins.