The scoreboard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta won’t even acknowledge who the Falcons’ opponent is Sunday.

It never does when the rival New Orleans Saints come to town.

Instead of “Saints,” that side of the scoreboard will simply say “Visitors.”

That level of pettiness is how things are supposed to be in a rivalry.

So despite their losing records — the Saints are 6-10 and the Falcons are 7-9 — this isn’t just some meaningless game between two teams looking to get to the finish line of the season and start their vacations.

It’s Saints vs. Falcons.

That’s all the motivation needed, right?

“Absolutely,” said Saints tight end Juwan Johnson. “We don’t like those guys, and we know they don’t like us. They beat us in our house a couple weeks ago, and now we have to try to return the favor.”

Neither team is going to the playoffs. The Saints haven’t been since the 2020 season, Drew Brees’ final year. The Falcons’ drought is even longer. They haven’t been since the 2017 season, when Matt Ryan was playing quarterback. The Falcons underachieved this season. The Saints, at least down the stretch, have overachieved. But both teams have played well lately. The Saints have won four straight and are 5-3 since rookie Tyler Shough took over for Spencer Rattler. The Falcons are 4-2 since Kirk Cousins replaced the injured Michael Penix. That includes Monday’s eye-opening win against the Los Angeles Rams.

Saints head coach Kellen Moore would like nothing more than for his team to finish the season with a fifth consecutive win.

“It’s real important (to finish strong),” Moore said. “It’s our last opportunity to finish. A division game. Atlanta. A lot of variables here. We are excited to finish this thing off the right way.”

That’s been Moore’s message all week. Finish the right way. A team that started 1-8 has a shot at getting to seven wins, which is about three more wins than the oddsmakers in Vegas predicted when the season started.

“It shows the character of these guys in the locker room and shows the character of the coaching staff,” Johnson said. “It’s just the fight in the guys that are here. Just staying with it. I know it’s not always easy, especially losing the way we were losing games. We can now go into next season with a lot of high morale. A lot of optimism.”

Much of that optimism is because of the emergence of Shough. The Saints have found their future at quarterback and can now look for other pieces to put around him during the offseason.

Shough may just be a rookie, but he already understands how much the rivalry means to the Saints’ fan base. He got a sense of it after the Saints lost to the Falcons 24-10 in his first start in the Superdome.

“I said after the first game that it stinks, because you know how much it means,” Shough said. “I think it’s going to mean even more because it’s the last game of the season. Both teams have been playing really well. They’ve been playing really hot. We have to do our job and get it done because it means so much. We’re not in the playoffs right now, but what an opportunity to go to their place and get a win.”

The Saints are looking to avoid being swept by the Falcons. The last time the Saints lost twice in the same season to the Falcons was in the 2016 season.

For Shough, this game also is one last closing argument for him in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race. Currently, he and Carolina Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan are neck and neck as the favorites. Being without Chris Olave (blood clot in his lungs) will make things more challenging. Shough will be throwing to Johnson and a receiving corp made up of guys you probably didn’t even know were on the roster. Shough’s receivers Sunday will be Kevin Austin, Dante Pettis, Ronnie Bell and Samori Toure. If he can win with those weapons, it would only strengthen his case for Rookie of the Year honors.

But he’s more focused on the big picture.

“I don’t care about anything else but finishing strong this week,” Shough said.

That simply means making sure he puts more points on his team’s side of the scoreboard: the side that will simply say “Visitors.”