AP Power Rankings: Garoppolo, Patriots at No. 1

NEW YORK (AP) Jimmy Garoppolo filled in for Tom Brady quite nicely.

Garoppolo was so good in New England's season-opening win at Arizona that the Patriots moved into the top spot in the AP Pro32 poll on Tuesday.

The Cardinals made it to the NFC championship game last season, but Garoppolo threw for 264 yards and a touchdown to lead the Patriots to a 23-21 victory on Sunday night. New England received five of 12 first-place votes in balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL.

''With Tom Brady sitting out the first game of a four-week suspension and All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski out with a hamstring injury, Jimmy Garoppolo did just enough to help the Patriots to a stunning road win at Arizona,'' Newsday's Bob Glauber said.

''But the real star of this game was Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose sideline genius makes up for the loss of his two star players.''

The Patriots will be without Brady for three more games, all of them at home starting on Sunday against Miami. New England is the only AFC East team to win its opener.

Defending champion Denver received three first-place votes and moved up to No. 2 in the poll.

Pittsburgh, which opened with a dominating 38-16 win at Washington, earned a first-place vote and is No. 3 overall.

''Any team that tries to cover Antonio Brown with one defender deserves what it gets - a funky end zone celebration,'' said Ira Kaufman of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Green Bay received two first-place votes and is the highest-ranked NFC team at No. 4.

Carolina, which lost its opener to Denver when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal in the final minute, had a first-place vote but dropped to fifth.

Cam Newton, who took several hard hits in that game, is expected to play in the Panthers' home opener against the 49ers.

''He's tough, he's resilient and he's moving around pretty good,'' coach Ron Rivera said Monday.

Seattle and Cincinnati, who both opened with close wins, tied for sixth.

Arizona dropped from No. 2 to No. 8. Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The snap was low and holder Drew Butler said he trapped the ball near where it was supposed to be.

''That probably threw the timing off a little bit,'' Butler said. ''But me and Cat (Catanzaro) have a job to do and I'll definitely take some blame on that one. I wish we could have put it through for our teammates. The offense did a great job of giving us the opportunity.''

Kansas City and Minnesota rounded out the top 10.

The Vikings open their new stadium on Sunday night against the rival Packers.

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Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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AP Sports Writers Steve Reed and Bob Baum contributed to this story.