Tampa Bay @ Cincinnati
Team Totals: Bengals 27, Bucs 23.5
At 50.5 points, Bucs-Bengals is Week 1’s highest-totaled game and an obvious mark for fantasy leaguers to lean into when setting lineups. … After failing to land a big-money extension, Baker Mayfield appears set to play out the final year of his deal. Mayfield is one of the few NFL players for whom I believe a chip on his shoulder may actually matter. “(I) feel disrespected,” Mayfield conceded at the start of camp. “That’s really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after thinking you’ve earned it. … To not have a deal done is very disappointing.” Most importantly, Mayfield is healthy after playing through PCL and MCL sprains, a bone bruise on his knee, and AC joint and bicep strains in his right (throwing) arm last season. Bengals DC Al Golden’s 2025 unit coughed up the NFL’s ninth-most fantasy QB points. … Although Cincinnati made notable up-front defensive additions in DT Dexter Lawrence, DT Jonathan Allen, and EDGE Boye Mafe, I am counting on Tampa Bay’s offensive line restoration to offset those in this Week 1 matchup. Arguably 2025’s most-injured O-Line, the Bucs open 2026 with a top-three unit in Brandon Thorn’s rankings. I continue to worry about Kenneth Gainwell wiping out Bucky Irving’s passing-game involvement, and Sean Tucker vulturing him close in — Irving handled zero carries inside the 5-yard line all last year — but I do believe Irving will have room to run when he gets the ball. He’s a justifiable RB2/flex start in this potential shootout.
UPDATE: Baker Mayfield signed a three-year, $165 million contract just as I was wrapping up this paragraph. The Great Narrative Is Dead.
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