Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is a candidate for Sports Illustrated’s year-end cover as the magazine celebrates the top sports moments of the year.

Fans can vote for their choice of the top sports moment from 2012 on Sports Illustrated’s Facebook page through Thursday, Dec. 13. The winner will be featured on the cover of the magazine’s Dec. 31st issue.

Manning’s comeback currently ranks in the top 5, and the Broncos’ overtime playoff win against Pittsburgh in last year’s AFC Wild Card round is also in the top 10.

Through 13 games this year, Manning has completed 330-of-483 passes for 3,812 yards and a franchise single-season record 30 touchdown passes.

This week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, which is available today, features Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning on its cover.

The story, which is headlined “Manning Up” on the cover and “What, You Doubted Him?” inside the magazine, pinpoints a 20-yard, second-quarter pass from Manning to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas that signaled Manning’s official return — according to the author, Alan Shipnuck.

“His pass tore through the thin Mile High Stadium air, and even before it reached its apex the sellout crowd loosed a throaty roar,” Shipnuck wrote.

“The completion was equal parts trust and timing, and its precise execution impressed one discerning onlooker. ‘There’s such a small window on that throw,’ said Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice president who led Manning’s recruitment. ‘It was a perfect ball. If there was any doubt whether Peyton is back, I think he answered it with that throw.’”

Super Bowl XLVII is scheduled to kick off on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans.

If Peter King of Sports Illustrated is correct, the Broncos will be there playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

In this week’s magazine, King predicts Denver to win the AFC Title and face Green Bay in the Super Bowl, with the Packers edging the Broncos by a field goal in the championship game, 33-30.

“Fifteen years ago John Elway won a 31-24 shootout with Brett Favre in the Super Bowl,” King wrote. “This time Elway will be watching from a Superdome box, not helicoptering over tacklers in San Diego.”