EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - 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 (2-2) set a franchise record and tied a league record by sacking Donovan McNabb 12 times in a 16-3 victory that brought back memories of the 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 sacks gave him 133.5 in his career, breaking Taylor's franchise record.

The Eagles (1-3) had a horrible effort in falling three games behind Dallas (4-0) in the NFC East.

Besides the sacks, Philadelphia had 15 penalties for 132 yards, including a dreadful illegal forward pass against McNabb with 2:24 to play. It nullified a 20-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Brown and prevented the Eagles from drawing within 16-10.

David Akers, who missed a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter, had his a 53-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter to get Philadelphia on the board.

The Eagles, who beat the Detroit Lions 56-21 last week, were shorthanded for the game, missing running back Brian Westbrook, cornerback Lito Sheppard, safety Brian Dawkins and offensive tackle William Thomas.

This is fifth time a team had 12 sacks. The last was Dallas against the Houston Oilers on Sept. 29, 1985.

Umenyiora's sack total is the second best in league history, tied with Derrick Thomas and Fred Dean.

The game pitted new Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo against his old mentor Jim Johnson, the Eagles longtime defensive coordinator. Spagnuolo had been the Eagles linebacker coach for the past three years.

While both defenses dominated, the Giants had an advantage going against an Eagles offense that was without Westbrook, its catalyst. The halfback who led the NFC in rushing after last week sat out with an abdominal strain.

The other key member missing on offense was Thomas, the left tackle who was out with a sprained knee. His spot in the lineup was taken by Winston Justice and Umenyiora ate him up all night.

Umenyiora's second sack set up the Giants second-quarter touchdown. It forced the Eagles to punt from deep in their end and R.W. McQuarters returned the kick 11 yards to the Eagles' 49.

Manning engineered a four-play drive, starting with passes of 19 and 17 yards to Amani Toomer. The score came as Burress outjumped Sheldon Brown in the corner of the endzone to give the Giants at 7-0 lead with 11:09 remaining in the half.

The Giants had a chance to extend the lead late in the second quarter but Omar Gaither intercepted a pass deep in Eagles territory.

Tynes' field goal pushed the lead to 10-0 late in the third quarter. It capped a 55-yard drive aided by a 32-yard pass interference penalty against Amani Toomer by Eagles cornerback William James.

The fumble return by Mitchell iced the game less than a minute later.

McNabb took the handoff from his 22 following an illegal formation penalty and bumped with fullback Thomas Tapeh. The ball came loose. Correll Buckhalter could not recover it and Mitchell eventually picked it up and scored.

The Eagles challenged the play, but the call stood.