diff --git a/Directory.Packages.props b/Directory.Packages.props
index 6751813eb5..099b474b3e 100644
--- a/Directory.Packages.props
+++ b/Directory.Packages.props
@@ -138,8 +138,8 @@
     Declare below packages that are bundled through MSTest.Sdk (baked into the shipped SDK
     templates) and are not otherwise consumed by a restored project, so that Dependabot can
     discover and update them. They are referenced only inside the SDK feature targets
-    (Sdk/Features/*.targets, which Dependabot doesn't restore); their only graph-visible reference
-    from a repo project restore is the inert anchor described in condition 2 below.
+    (Sdk/Features/*.targets, which Dependabot doesn't restore); their only Dependabot-visible
+    reference from a repo project is the inert anchor described in condition 2 below.
 
     Two conditions must BOTH hold for Dependabot to bump one of these, and missing either one
     silently stops the updates:
@@ -149,17 +149,19 @@
          PackageVersion whose Version is an MSBuild property interpolation.
          See dependabot/dependabot-core#5812 and dependabot/dependabot-core#7183.
 
-      2. The package MUST appear in the repo's restore graph via a graph-visible reference:
+      2. The package MUST be referenced by a project via a PackageReference that Dependabot reads:
          Dependabot only updates a CPM PackageVersion that is actually referenced by a project;
          an "orphan" PackageVersion (declared here but referenced nowhere) is ignored. Because
          these packages are only baked into the shipped SDK templates (Sdk/Features/*.targets)
          and never referenced by a built project, we add inert anchor references in
          test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj.
-         The anchor MUST be a PackageDownload, NOT a PackageReference with ExcludeAssets="all":
-         ExcludeAssets="all" removes the reference from the dependency graph Dependabot reads, so
-         the package stays invisible and never gets bumped. PackageDownload keeps it in the restore
-         graph (so Dependabot proposes bumps) without flowing any of its assets into the project.
-         Without a graph-visible anchor Dependabot never proposed bumps (see #9362).
+         The anchor MUST be a PackageReference (ExcludeAssets="all" is fine - it only stops the
+         package's assets from flowing into the project; it does NOT hide the reference from
+         Dependabot, which reads the PackageReference XML node, not the asset-flow rules). It must
+         NOT be a PackageDownload: Dependabot does not read PackageDownload items at all
+         (dependabot/dependabot-core#2502), so a PackageDownload anchor is invisible to it. Using a
+         PackageDownload as the anchor is exactly why Playwright silently stopped updating (see
+         #9362 / #9452); the PackageReference anchor is what makes the bumps flow.
 
     Each literal version is duplicated as the matching *Version property (defined near the top of
     this file) which is the value actually consumed by the build and baked into the MSTest.Sdk
diff --git a/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj b/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj
index e3348314e3..29f33d2ca4 100644
--- a/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj
+++ b/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj
@@ -44,27 +44,33 @@
 
   <!--
     Dependabot anchors for the packages bundled by MSTest.Sdk (Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4,
-    Aspire.Hosting.Testing). The Aspire entry doubles as the download that stages its nupkg for
-    test assets (see CopyNuGetPackagesForTestAssets below); the Playwright entry is the Dependabot
-    anchor only. These packages are baked into the shipped SDK templates (Sdk/Features/*.targets)
-    and are otherwise referenced only there (which Dependabot doesn't restore), so without a
-    graph-visible reference from a repo project their Central Package Management PackageVersion
-    entries in Directory.Packages.props are "orphans" that Dependabot ignores (it only updates
-    package versions that are actually referenced by a restored project).
+    Aspire.Hosting.Testing). These are baked into the shipped SDK templates (Sdk/Features/*.targets)
+    and are otherwise referenced only there (which Dependabot doesn't restore), so their Central
+    Package Management PackageVersion entries in Directory.Packages.props are "orphans" that
+    Dependabot ignores unless a project references them.
 
-    We use PackageDownload (NOT a PackageReference with ExcludeAssets="all") deliberately:
-    ExcludeAssets="all" removes the reference from the dependency graph Dependabot reads, so the
-    package stays invisible to it and never gets bumped (Aspire only kept updating because it ALSO
-    had this PackageDownload; the equivalent Playwright anchor with ExcludeAssets="all" silently did
-    nothing, see #9362). PackageDownload puts the package into the restore (so Dependabot proposes
-    bumps) without flowing any of its assets (compile/runtime/build, e.g. Playwright's browser
-    install) into this test project. The _ValidateBundledSdkFeatureVersions target in
-    Directory.Packages.props then guards the matching version properties (MicrosoftPlaywrightVersion,
-    AspireHostingTestingVersion) against drift after a bump.
+    The PackageReference (with ExcludeAssets="all") is the Dependabot ANCHOR: Dependabot reads the
+    PackageReference XML node to discover the dependency and bump its CPM PackageVersion.
+    ExcludeAssets="all" only stops the package's assets (compile/runtime/build, e.g. Playwright's
+    browser install) from flowing into this test project - it does NOT hide the reference from
+    Dependabot. A PackageDownload does NOT work as the anchor: Dependabot does not read
+    PackageDownload items at all (dependabot/dependabot-core#2502). Using PackageDownload as the
+    anchor is exactly why Playwright silently stopped updating - see #9362 / #9452.
+
+    Dependabot only bumps the literal PackageVersion in Directory.Packages.props, not the matching
+    *Version property the build consumes; the _ValidateBundledSdkFeatureVersions target in
+    Directory.Build.targets fails the build if the two drift apart, so a maintainer reconciles the
+    property in the Dependabot PR.
   -->
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.Testing" ExcludeAssets="all" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4" ExcludeAssets="all" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+
+  <!-- Packages needed to stage nupkgs for the generated test assets (see
+       CopyNuGetPackagesForTestAssets below) but that we don't want to reference. -->
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageDownload Include="Aspire.Hosting.Testing" Version="[$(AspireHostingTestingVersion)]" />
-    <PackageDownload Include="Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4" Version="[$(MicrosoftPlaywrightVersion)]" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <Target Name="CopyNuGetPackagesForTestAssets" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild">