Saints defend themselves after Eagles accuse them of being a dirty team

The game between the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles unfolded much differently than people expected, finishing with a 15-12 score in favor of Philly. The hard fought battle also created some bad blood between the two teams.

That was evident towards the end of the game when Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was caught on camera talking trash with Tyrann Mathieu and Marshon Lattimore. The harsh feelings carried over into players’ post-game comments, as C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a lot of negative things to say about the Saints, and Mathieu shared his feelings about the Eagles, and how he hopes to see them again.

Gardner-Johnson and Eagles fans also accused New Orleans of being a dirty football team, and those accusations have the Saints defending themselves days later. Gardner-Johnson and many of the fans are arguing Khristian Boyd’s hit, that led to DeVonta Smith leaving the game with a concussion, was a dirty hit. Gardner-Johnson said it was the dirtiest thing he’s ever seen in football.

Philly fans also took exception to Trevor Penning blocking cornerback Darius Slay well into the sideline, after the ball carrier had already went out of bounds— a play Slay was injured on. Defensive end Payton Turner is also being accused of spitting on Smith while he was on the ground, though, Turner has already vehemently denied that he’d do something like that. Boyd has also expressed he’d never try to deliberately hurt a player, and wished Smith well.

Head coach Dennis Allen was asked about these accusations on Monday and he said the Saints aren’t a dirty team. He emphasized that New Orleans plays extremely hard, and that the team plays until the whistle blows. He says that’s how they’re taught to play; not to be dirty.

Dennis Allen says Saints play extremely hard but aren’t a dirty team

Allen believes Penning was justifiably penalized for his block on Slay, saying the young tackle needs to have some awareness of where he is on the field, but he didn’t criticize New Orleans’ behavior for any other plays.

The Saints are right to defend Boyd and his hit on Smith. While no one should want to see a player go down with an injury, especially a concussion, Boyd didn’t do anything wrong or illegal. Smith was on his feet and the referees hadn’t blown the whistle yet.

If anyone is to be criticized for how the play unfolded, it’s the referees. They were slow with the whistle, even though Smith’s forward progress was stopped and he was being driven backwards. It’s very common for both offensive and defensive players to run towards a scrum and throw their weight into it.

Offensive players do it to move the pile forward, and defenders do it to get the ball carrier down. It’s extremely unfortunate Smith was injured, but the facts of the situation is he was a ball carrier during a play that had not been blown dead, and Boyd tackled him, by leading with his shoulder into Smith’s back. Allen is right to characterize this as playing hard, not dirty.

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