On a day that the Eagles desperately needed a win, they got it, the hard ugly way.

The Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) defeated the lowly New York Jets (1-5) 16-9 on Sunday, making them a perfect 9-0 in games under Reid following bye weeks; add to the win the news of a Dallas and Washington loss, and this victory tastes even sweeter (the Giants play Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons).

*note – Considering I’m out on the left coast, and I usually go to a bar in Santa Monica to see the Birds play, I must come clean and say that I never actually got to see today’s game. I overslept and ended up “watching” the game on Yahoo’s stat tracker while watching the Titans – Bucs game on TV (this is a bar where if you don’t show up two hours before kick off, you don’t get in). But in my defense, from everything that I’ve read and everyone that I’ve talked to, besides the 75 yard McNabb to Curtis touchdown (the stat itself sounds a lot sexier than the truth – mistackling by the Jets secondary), this game was a total SNOOZEFEST!

To say this game was a defensive battle would be an understatement.

The game featured only one touchdown and six field goals even though it had… two players, Brian Westbrook (120 yards) and Thomas Jones (130 yards), go well over the 100 yard rushing mark. One player, Donovan McNabb (1 TD/1 INT), throw for over 275 yards. And two punters, Sav Rocca and Ben Graham, only having 5 punts between them.

The game also featured, and I use that word very loosely… the resurgence appearance of Philly wide out Reggie Brown (6 catches 89 yards receiving) and defensive end Jevon Kearse (5 tackles and 1 sack). It also showcased the best all around corner in the NFC – Sheldon Brown, who had another solid game, and now has 24 tackles on the season to go along with 2 interceptions. Fans (and McNabb) also got to see the return of William Thomas, and ironically a new and improved offensive line that only allowed 3 sacks. And last but certainly not least, we got to see Andy or Marty (whoever the hell is calling plays these days) call a very balanced game – 28 runs, 35 passes.

The two most important things that I took away from this game were the following:

The Eagles defense is starting to look like that certain something this team can hang its hat on (and they’re doing it all without All-Pro safety and corner Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard). In the past I use to close my eyes on third down and count the seconds until the offense would be back on the field to undo the defense’s mistake. Now it’s the exact opposite. Jim Johnson is calling a smart game and his players are executing accordingly. Now if we could only get rid of Gocong, or somehow allow him to sell hot dogs during the game instead of actually playing.

S.O.S. David Akers (has made 10 of 13 field goals). He missed twice on Sunday, and one more the last time the Birds visited Giants Stadium. You used to be able to set your clock by him. Now he’s hit or miss, with an emphasis on the miss. Perhaps I’m overreacting a little, but can anyone honestly say they’re 100% confident when Akers lines up for a field goal? What the hell happened to the guy? I know I’ll regret writing this later, but perhaps it’s time to shave the ‘stache!  Maybe it’s throwing off his balance, or impairing his vision.

The Eagles now have a six days to prepare for the Chicago Devin Hester’s (2-4).