by Lucas Garrison, Sports Editor

Football is back, baby, and in a big way! In the AFC, the Patriots looked unstoppable, and in the NFC, the Cowboys showed themselves to be a real Super Bowl contender, with their quarterback Dak Prescott proving he deserves to be a top three paid quarterback in this league.

Those were the two teams that stuck out in week one as the best in their conferences, respectively. However, there are several other teams to be on the lookout.

The Baltimore Ravens are stronger than last year. The Jacksonville Jaguars did not need to pay for Nick Foles, and the Steelers will struggle without the “Killer B’s.”

The Jags lost former Super Bower champion Eagles quarterback Nick Foles until at least week eleven, but back-up Gardner Minshew still went out and had a solid stat line: two touchdowns on 275 yards passing with an 88% completion rate. As long as the Jags can continue to have solid production from their defense, running back Leonard Fournette and back-up quarterback Minshew, I fully expect this team to return to the glory of 2017.

As far as the Ravens go, don’t buy into the week one hype right away. Yes, Lamar Jackson was able to put on a show, but he still has a lot to prove. Remember this, the Ravens played a horrible team in the Miami Dolphins. Now, this is not to say that the Ravens will not contend for an AFC North title. However, the Ravens will struggle when they face “real” teams season. For example, the Ravens the next three weeks will face the Chiefs, Browns and Steelers. Check in after the first month of the season, and then we will be able to take a real look at the Ravens.

As for the Steelers, who were the victims of the Patriots convincing week one performance, where do I start?

I truly do not know what to make of this team. The Steelers looked out of touch from the second they took the field in Foxborough Sunday to the second the arrived back into Pittsburgh early Monday morning. Quarterback Ben Roethlisburger had the sole highlight of the night, which came in his postgame interview.

Ben, when asked, “How do you feel about [Antonio Brown] joining these [the Patriots]?” Ben’s answer: “Whatever.”

This statement comes after Ben had continuously tried to apologize for the way Antonio Brown felt he was treated in his final days with the Steelers. My overall analysis on the Steelers is that they have a weak Secondary and a coaching staff and front office that will be in full panic mode after this week 1 loss and throughout the season. If the Steelers want any shot of becoming an AFC North champion, let alone returning to the playoffs, they will need to put the past behind them and just play football.