CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- To the outside world that continues to wonder if Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera will rest players down the stretch even if costs his team a shot at finishing the regular season 16-0, he doesn’t know.

“I can’t tell you what I’m going to do,’’ Rivera said on Friday. “I can’t tell you what my mindset is going to be. We’re going to play each game and we’ll play the players as necessary.

Ron Rivera and the Panthers can lock up home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs with a win over the Giants and an Arizona loss this Sunday. AP Photo/Mike McCarn

“It’s about being smart down the stretch. Again, the ultimate goal is to win [the Super Bowl]. But at the same time I’ve got to look at things, weigh things. But I don’t know what I’m going to do.’’

Rivera consistently has said the goal is for the Panthers (13-0) to win the Super Bowl, not go undefeated during the regular season. He also admits the undefeated part could throw a wrench into his thinking because it’s so rare.

But Rivera isn’t thinking at all about resting players on Sunday against the New York Giants (6-7) at MetLife Stadium. The goal is to win and give Carolina a chance to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The only way that can happen on Sunday is for the Panthers to win and Arizona (11-2) to lose at Philadelphia in the Sunday night game.

If Carolina and Arizona win, the Panthers would have to win next week at Atlanta to secure home-field advantage.

“That’s the hard thing,’’ Rivera said when he gets asked about resting players. “Everybody wants to know now. I’ll be honest with you -- I don’t know. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.

“I’m taking everything in, I’m listening, I’m trying to avoid as many of those discussions [as I can], but here we are discussing it again.’’

Rivera’s total focus is on beating a Giants team that has a history of knocking off undefeated teams late in the season.

They knocked off the undefeated Bears in the 1934 NFL championship game. They beat the 13-0 Denver Broncos at home in 1998. They beat New England in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2007 season to keep the Patriots from becoming the first 19-0 team.

“We’ll just stay focused in on the next game,’’ Rivera said. “The biggest thing is I would love to have home field throughout, so we’ve got to win. And that’s the approach.’’