Cards, Pack, Bucs, Pats, Chiefs still top 5 in AP Pro32 poll

Updated Dec. 7, 2021 8:58 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Sometimes, it’s lonely at the top.

Except for the

The top five teams are all quite familiar with each other as they remain unchanged from last week.

The Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs all kept their places high up in the rankings.

The Cardinals earned 11 of the 12 first-place votes for 382 points in balloting Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL.

The Cardinals will close out Week 14 when they host the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

“Kyler Murray is back after a three-week absence and the Cardinals again look like an offensive juggernaut in becoming the first 10-win team of the season,” said Rick Gosselin of Talk of Fame Network.

“Murray didn’t look rusty at all in Chicago, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for two more, in Arizona’s romp over the Bears. That returned Murray to the NFL MVP discussion.”

The Rams, who routed the Jaguars to end a three-game losing streak, gained a spot to round out the top 10 in the poll.

The Packers, who are coming off a bye, earned the remaining first-place vote and also have a prime-time game in Week 14 as they host the rival Bears on Sunday night.

The Buccaneers handled the Falcons in Atlanta and now get ready to host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Bills dropped two spots to No. 9 after losing 14-10 at home in blustery conditions to the Patriots.

“(Bills QB) Josh Allen simply didn’t deliver when he needed to do it at the end,” Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki said.

The Patriots’ win, in which rookie quarterback Mac Jones completed only two of three passes for 19 yards for the entire game, gave them control of the AFC East as they head into their bye week.

“Bill Belichick is in first place in the AFC East with a rookie quarterback coming off a road win in Buffalo thanks to a brilliant strategy in wind-swept conditions,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said. “There’s your Coach of the Year.”

The Chiefs have won five in a row after shutting down the Broncos on Sunday night and will look to stay hot as they host the reeling Raiders on Sunday.

The Baltimore Ravens remained at No. 6, despite losing 20-19 to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on a failed 2-point attempt in the final seconds. The Ravens will try to rebound on Sunday as they head to Cleveland to face the Browns for the second time in three weeks.

The Ravens were joined at No. 6 by the Tennessee Titans, who moved up two spots even though they are coming off their bye.

The Dallas Cowboys climbed two spots to No. 8 after topping New Orleans and now enter a closing stretch in which they face four NFC East opponents in their final five games to decide the division.

___

More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL