Dennis Allen of the Saints defends his team against the Eagles' “dirty” allegations

METAIRIE, Louisiana — New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen defended his players after the Philadelphia Eagles accused the team of foul play in the Eagles' 15-12 victory on Sunday.

“I would say our guys play extremely hard and we're going to fight until the deficit is over,” Allen said Monday. “I don't think we play unfairly. I don't think we've ever played unfairly. It's not the way we practice, it's not the way we teach, but we play hard. Look, nobody wants anyone to get hurt, nobody tries to hurt anyone, and unfortunately that's part of our business. No, we don't play unfairly. We don't practice dirty, but we play hard and we play physical.”

Saints defensive end Payton Turner and rookie defensive tackle Khristian Boyd were both charged with foul play after Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith was placed in concussion protocol and did not return.

Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, who the Saints traded to the Eagles in 2022, said Boyd attacked Smith unfairly.

“Man, that's the dirtiest shit I've ever seen in football, brother,” Gardner-Johnson said after the game. “You obviously saw the advance was stopped. For them to attack one of our key players so unfairly shows what kind of team they are. They're top of the league.”

Smith was brought down by two Saints defenders in the fourth quarter after a 5-yard catch when Boyd came from the other side and hit him high as he ran backwards, causing his helmet to fall off. Smith was placed in concussion protocol and left the game, and Boyd was not penalized for the play.

Turner was accused of spitting on Smith while he was lying on the ground after a post on X went viral.

“You know I would never do something like that,” Turner wrote in response to the post.

In a now-deleted story on his Instagram account, Boyd said he would never intentionally cause injury.

“Just trying to play the ball,” Boyd wrote. “Get well soon, 6.”

Saints right tackle Trevor Penning was also penalized for unnecessary roughness in that game for blocking cornerback Darius Slay Jr. into the sideline. It was Penning's second unnecessary roughness penalty of the season.

Slay left the game due to an injury, but later told X that he was fine.

“We can't let that happen,” Allen said. “You have to be aware of where you are on the field. That could have been a really costly penalty. I love the aggressiveness, but at the same time we can't hurt the team.”

In the final minute, a verbal altercation broke out near the Eagles sideline between Saints defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Marshon Lattimore and Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Carter was sent away by members of the Eagles coaching staff.

“Obviously, man, it's an intense game. … And emotions are running high,” Mathieu said after the game. “Obviously, it was a one-point game for a while. I think defensively, of course, we want to defend our home court. But obviously, Lat and I should never go to the sideline of those guys. We'll learn from this. It happens to all of us that emotions kind of get the best of us. I didn't hear much from those guys the whole game until they took the lead at the end. I'm just excited to hopefully play against those guys again.”