Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said Wednesday that he doesn’t want anyone on the team thinking about the Super Bowl because “you’ll get your ass beat and you’ll be packing your bags on Monday” if you do.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a similar view when it comes to looking beyond this Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. Rodgers was asked on Wednesday if he’s thought about the possibility that his fifth trip to the game will be his final one.
Rodgers said that he’s “staying in the present” and isn’t going to think about what the future might hold.
“I hope there’s more opportunities, but I don’t know. I really don’t,” Rodgers said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “That’s outside of my control. My future is a beautiful mystery, I think.”
The Packers’ decision to draft quarterback Jordan Love in the first round meant Rodgers’ future was a topic of conversation coming into the season. He responded to that with a season that’s likely to net him the MVP award. That doesn’t guarantee future trips deep into the postseason, but it does make it seem a lot likelier.