FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — "We don't like the Saints."
There's no mistaking how Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris feels about Sunday's opponent, the perfect foe for his team to host for a regular-season finale that will decide the final standings of the NFC South.
The New Orleans Saints.
"I'm still learning about the rivalry myself," Falcons inside linebacker Divine Deablo said. "But you can feel it around the building that we want this one bad."
These division rivals previously met in Week 12, when the Falcons won 24-10. Since then, both teams were officially eliminated from the playoffs but also caught a second wind. Atlanta has won its last three consecutive games, and New Orleans has won its last four in a row.
The Falcons and Saints have split their series the past two seasons, which tracks with the series' history considering they have a 56-56 regular-season record. The last time the Falcons pulled off a sweep was 2016. They hosted the Saints for the season finale that year, too.
"It's a battle between New Orleans and the ATL," Falcons safety Jessie Bates III. "It's something that naturally you got to embrace when you come into the organization and understand the importance of that game. Even though we're not playing for a playoff spot right now, it's still important to let your rival, your peers, know that this is who we are."
The Carolina Panthers lead the NFC South entering Week 18 with an 8-8 record. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are second at 7-9. In third, the Falcons are also 7-9, but because of their record in common games, the Buccaneers hold the tiebreaker. Then, the Saints are fourth at 6-10.
The Panthers and Buccaneers play Saturday. If Carolina wins, it clinches the division.
The Falcons and Saints play Sunday. If the Atlanta wins, Carolina takes the division. If New Orleans wins and Tampa Bay wins, the Buccaneers claim the division.
The best the Falcons can finish is second, and that would require a win against the Saints and the Panthers beating the Buccaneers. If the Saints win in that same scenario, then they're second, and the Falcons are last.
Second place and a four-game win streak would be two positives to close out an otherwise rocky season.
"You can just have that feeling going into the offseason of we were a couple of games off," Bates said. "You can understand that margin of error going into next year, that maybe we should start the winning streak earlier in the season. But it is a long season. When you start off slow, you tend to forget about the back end of the season and how you can really still finish strong."
The Falcons clearly didn't forget.
"Finishing strong is important," Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "It does change your feelings as you have your exit meetings the following day, as you kind of head into the offseason. A win any time in the year is a different emotional lift, and the last one of the year is the same way."
According to Over the Cap, the Falcons have 28 players bound for free agency when the 2026 new league years begins on March 11.
It's inevitable: The current locker room will never be the exact same again.
"I feel like we became a family here," Deablo said. "During meetings, we would really try to understand each other, like what's our 'why.' Why do we play football? That made us closer as a group.
"Hopefully we can end this thing the right way."
