There’s no point in denying it. The Saints have to clean up their act for the 49ers.

The New Orleans Saints left a lot of meat on the ol’ turkey bone Thanksgiving night against the Atlanta Falcons, providing Coach Sean Payton and his staff with food for thought over the coming days.

Truth be told, the Saints did not play well on a national stage. Sure, a few individuals excelled — most notably, Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill (two TDs and a blocked punt), defensive end Cam Jordan (four sacks) and kicker Wil Lutz (four FGs).

And, the defense turned Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan every which way but loose, producing nine sacks and three takeaways.

But overall, the team muddled through 60 minutes of holiday football, surviving two consecutive recovered onside kicks by the Falcons in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

The Falcons actually recovered three straight but the first one was negated by a penalty.

Heck, this wasn’t an ambush. The Black and Gold got bushwhacked! Consider: Entering Week 13, NFL teams had attempted 37 onside kicks and recovered three, resulting in a paltry 8.1 success rate.

The bottom line is the Saints exited Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a huge “W,” winning 26-18 to claim the NFC South championship for a third consecutive year and avenge an earlier shocking 26-9 loss in Week 10.

Equally important, the Saints (10-2) clinched a playoff berth and remained in hot pursuit of the San Francisco 49ers (10-1) in the race for NFC homefield advantage. I look for the ‘Niners’ to be in over their heads Sunday at Baltimore (9-2), setting up a monster showdown against the Saints at the Superdome next week at the Superdome (noon, Fox).

After the Falcons-Saints game, my oldest of three daughters, Katie, offered her two cents on the Black and Gold: “They need to clean up their act.’‘

I might add ... in a hurry.

This just in — the Saints committed another penalty.

All those Who Dat loyalists who view my sarcasm as a cheap shot, get over it. The time has come for some tough love, brothers and sisters. Especially if you want your beloved team to win Super Bowl LIV.

Payton must be seeing yellow flags in his dreams. Chew on these Thanksgiving leftovers: Since their bye in Week 9, the Saints have committed a staggering 42 penalties for 410 lost yards in four consecutive games against their divisional foes, or an average of 10.5 penalties and 102.5 lost yards per game.

As the inimitable Dean Vernon Wormer said in the epic comedic movie, National Lampoon’s “Animal House’‘ — “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.’‘

The Saints should chew on those wise words over their mini-break and “clean up their act’‘ before it’s too late.