Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians issued a not-so-subtle warning to his players ahead of Sunday's NFC Championship game, saying that if they think ahead to the Super Bowl, they won't make it there.
"We don't play that game this week -- that's the message to everybody," Arians told reporters on Wednesday. "We play the [Green Bay] Packers in the NFC Championship game.
"If you start thinking about the Super Bowl, you get your [expletive] beat and you'll be packing your bags on Monday."
The Buccaneers and Packers kick off on Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The winner advances to face the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
No NFL team has ever played in a Super Bowl on its home field.
The Minnesota Vikings were the last team with a chance to accomplish that feat, before they lost in the 2018 NFC Championship game. The Philadelphia Eagles went on to beat Tom Brady's New England Patriots in the Super Bowl that year in Minneapolis.
The Packers (14-3) are three-point favorites to beat the Buccaneers (13-5) in Green Bay, where it is expected to snow. Tampa Bay beat Green Bay 38-10 on Oct. 18 in Tampa.
The Buccaneers advanced to the NFC Championship game with playoff wins over the Washington Football Team and New Orleans Saints. The Packers had a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They then beat the Los Angeles Rams to advance to the conference finale.
"It was the same thing as the Saints last week," Arians said. "They beat us twice [and] pretty badly, once. We won that ballgame.
"You can't fall into that trap of what happened last time. They're a much, much better football team [and] we're a much better football team. Both [teams are] very different right now, so you better take care of today's work each and every day."
The Packers and Buccaneers kick off at 3:05 p.m. EST on Sunday. The game airs on Fox.
