For the second year in a row, the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are scheduled to close out the NFL regular season in a maybe-meaningful Week 17 game. Sure, circumstances aren’t the same as last season — the Saints won’t be resting their starters and putting Teddy Bridgewater under center, and the Panthers won’t have longtime head coach Ron Rivera at the wheel — but the fact remains that this game means more for one team than the other.
But with the Saints in position to claim a top-two seed in the NFC playoff standings (with some help) and the Panthers looking to play spoiler, both squads are going to give their best effort.