"DESEAN JACKSON turned 24 on Wednesday.

No truth to the rumor that Andy Reid got Jackson the new iPhone.

Last night, with the Eagles trailing and reeling, Jackson, the biggest playmaker on Reid's offense, needed to drop the PDA and make a play.

No tweets, no texts; the only networking Jackson needed to complete was with quarterback Michael Vick, the way Texans money man Andre Johnson just had on the Texans' go-ahead drive.

In the old-fashioned manner, coach Reid delivered that message to Jackson after Sunday's loss in Chicago. Forget about any contract extension; forget about pregame and postgame cybersocializing.

Play football.

D-Jax heeded.

His 33-yard reception on the second play of the fourth quarter set up the Eagles' go-ahead touchdown in their 34-24 win.

Jackson ran down the numbers on the right side of the field, sped past cornerback Jason Allen, dipped left near the hash mark, and found himself pinpointed by Vick. Allen was so badly burned that safety Bernard Pollard had to come off the receiver he was covering, one-on-one, to make the tackle at the 11.

"It was huge for us," Jackson said. "They played a coverage that let me get right up the seam. Vick put a great ball right on me."

The ball found him in the fourth, but the spotlight was on him all week.

First, Jackson reportedly was the focus of a scolding; that Reid, ranting, singled out Jackson after the loss in Chicago for lack of focus, even as Jackson uninterestedly tapped away on his networker.

Maybe Jackson's agent, meddlesome Drew "T.O." Rosenhaus, advised his latest diva client to play football first and stump for an extension later - like, perhaps, next year, when Jackson actually will be facing free agency.

A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer indicated that Jackson and Rosenhaus were commiserating over Jackson's contract status. He's in the third year of his 4-year rookie deal that pays him just under $3.5 million.

On Tuesday, Jackson denied any strife between him and Reid.

Last night, Jackson vaguely acknowledged the locker-room incident and stressed the importance of accepting responsibility for it as the team played for the second time in 5 days.

"It was crucial for us as a team not to get caught up in individual people having grudges, whatever the case may be," Jackson said. "As a man, definitely: Addressed it. You move on with things in life. You don't hold grudges and things like that. It was handled. You move on.""