The Panthers have one more round of humiliation to go before they can rest and their 2018 season finally comes to an end.

Carolina closes out the year on the road against the Saints this week, and it’s not going to get any kind of a break.

Even though his team has secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC, coach Sean Payton told reporters unequivocally that he is going to treat it like any other game and will not be resting his starters.

Saints coach Sean Payton was very specific on today's teleconference on how he'll approach Week 17's season finale against the Panthers when it came to starters. Quotes attached: pic.twitter.com/rSaPrQM3Xg — Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) December 24, 2018

Unless Payton is being duplicitous, we should expect to see Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas and the rest of the team that beat the Panthers 12-9 a couple of weeks ago on Monday night.

As for the Panthers, it’s much less clear who will be playing, especially at the most important position on the field.

Backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke struggled and suffered an elbow injury in his first start and underwent an MRI earlier this week. The results have not been reported at this time. Coach Ron Rivera has also not officially deactivated Cam Newton. Although it’s unlikely he will play, it has not been ruled out.

No odds have been posted for the matchup as of yet.