Giants sack Eagles
With Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor on the sidelines as an honorary captain, it was appropriate that the New York Giants sacked the Philadelphia Eagles unmercifully.
Osi Umenyiora had a team-record six sacks and the Giants set a franchise record and tied a league record by sacking Donovan McNabb 12 times in a 16-3 victory at East Rutherford, N.J., that brought back memories of New York’s Super Bowl days.
Mathias Kiwanuka added three sacks, Justin Tuck two and Michael Strahan one in an awesome display by a defense that was ranked as the worst in the league after giving up 80 points in its first two games.
Kawika Mitchell returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown and Eli Manning threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, a score that, of course, was set up by a sack.
Lawrence Tynes added a 29-yard field goal in the third quarter, but he also missed a 34-yarder and an extra point.
Strahan’s sack gave him 133 1/2 in his career, breaking Taylor’s franchise record.
Cardinals 21, Steelers 14: At Glendale, Ariz., rookie Steve Breaston returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown and the Cardinals’ defense shut down Pittsburgh’s high-scoring offense most of the day to hand the Steelers their first loss.
The Cardinals ended Willie Parker’s string of four consecutive 100-yard rushing games, limiting him to 37 yards on 18 carries.
Cowboys 35, Rams 7: At Irving Texas, Tony Romo had a 15-yard touchdown run and threw touchdown passes of 59, 37 and 17 yards, turning what had been a tight early game into yet another easy win for Dallas and another frustrating loss for St. Louis.
The Cowboys are 4-0 for the first time since 1995, the year of their last Super Bowl title. The Rams are 0-4 for the first time since 2002.
Raiders 35, Dolphins 17: At Miami, Daunte Culpepper ran for three touchdowns and threw for two to win the grudge game against his former team.
Justin Fargas replaced an injured LaMont Jordan shortly before halftime and ran for a career-high 179 yards on 22 carries.
Falcons 26, Texans 16: At Atlanta, Joey Harrington threw a pair of touchdown passes to Michael Jenkins, 47-year-old Morten Andersen kicked four field goals and the Falcons defeated Matt Schaub and the Texans.
Harrington was 23 of 29 for 223 yards.
Chiefs 30, Chargers 16: At San Diego, Dwayne Bowe caught a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown pass from Damon Huard early in the fourth quarter and cornerback Tyron Brackenridge raced 50 yards for a score after Philip Rivers was sacked and fumbled with just more than seven minutes left to help Kansas City secure the victory over the Chargers.
Buccaneers 20, Panthers 7: At Charlotte, N.C., Jeff Garcia didn’t throw an interception for the fourth straight game and ran for a touchdown, while the Bucs shut down David Carr, Steve Smith and the Panthers to move atop the NFC South.
Colts 38, Broncos 20: At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning finished 20 of 27 for 193 yards and three touchdowns and Joseph Addai ran 19 times for 136 yards and one score to lead the Colts past Denver.
Denver ran for 160 yards in the first half, the best in the NFL this season.
Browns 27, Ravens 13: At Cleveland, Derek Anderson threw two touchdown passes and Jamal Lewis ran for one against his former team to lead the Browns past Baltimore.
Lewis finished with 64 yards and scored on a disputed 1-yard dive in the second quarter, the first rushing TD given up by the NFL’s top run defense this season.
Bills 17, Jets 14: At Orchard Park, N.Y., making his first career start in place of injured J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards went 22 of 28 for 234 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown to Michael Gaines with 7 minutes left to lead Buffalo past the Jets.