National Football League

AP Pro32: Top 3 stays same in AP's power rankings

Published Sep. 22, 2015 9:20 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

NEW YORK (AP) The New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos still rule in the NFL power rankings.

Those three teams kept their spots in the AP Pro32 on Tuesday.

In balloting by 12 media members who regularly cover the NFL, the Patriots finished ahead of the Packers and Broncos for the second consecutive week.

The Patriots cruised to a win over the Bills as Tom Brady threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns.

''More insane numbers from Tom Brady, who throws for the second-most yards of his career in 40-32 win over Bills,'' Newsday's Bob Glauber said.

The Packers kept the Seattle Seahawks winless with a 27-17 victory in a rematch of last season's NFC title game. The Seahawks dropped from fifth to eighth.

''A big win over Seattle helps ease a little bit of the pain of last year's playoff loss,'' ESPN's Herm Edwards said.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals rounded out the top five.

The Bengals are underdogs going into Sunday's game at the winless Ravens.

''We'll find out about them this week in Baltimore,'' NBC Sports' Tony Dungy said.

The Cardinals have a two-game lead over the Seahawks in the NFC West.

''If Carson Palmer stays healthy, look out NFC,'' Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune said.

Arizona's quarterback is off to a strong start with 492 yards passing and seven TDs in two games.

Despite beating the Eagles on Sunday, the Cowboys dropped two spots to sixth. Dallas will have to play several weeks without quarterback Tony Romo and star receiver Dez Bryant.

The Cowboys traded for Matt Cassel on Tuesday to add depth at quarterback.

''The Cowboys are 2-0 on the field but 0-2 in the training room, having lost QB Tony Romo and WR Dez Bryant for what could be the next two months with injuries,'' said Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News.

The Steelers moved from 13th to seventh after routing the 49ers 43-18.

''Found a defensive star in (Ryan) Shazier,'' Fox Sports' John Czarnecki said.

The linebacker had a career-high 15 tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.

The Jets also improved to 2-0 with a 20-7 win over the Colts on Monday night. They jumped from 21st to a ninth-place tie with Carolina.

''That's what happens when you pay $127 million for your secondary,'' Jenny Vrentas of The Monday Morning Quarterback said after New York shut down Andrew Luck.

''This Jets defense will be even better when Sheldon Richardson returns.''

The Falcons also made a big move, going from 18th to 11th after rallying past the Giants for a 24-20 win. The Falcons face the Cowboys on Sunday.

''I love that the Falcons kept their focus after a big Week 1 win over Philadelphia,'' Foxsports.com's Alex Marvez said. ''It speaks volumes about how positively Dan Quinn has affected the team.''

---

AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League