Three NFL Week 1 games that could change the way we see these teams

Could Baker Mayfield win himself a bigger paycheck?

Baker Mayfield has already bet on himself once.

Now he's doing it again.

Mayfield enters the 2026 season with his contract situation still hanging over the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay has made efforts to keep its quarterback, but the two sides haven't been able to reach an agreement on a long term extension.

So what happens if Mayfield comes out and lights up Week 1? Does one big performance change the negotiations?

Maybe not immediately.

But quarterbacks don't get many better opportunities to increase their value than when everybody is watching.

A great season would obviously help Mayfield. A great start could help even more.

And if Tampa Bay wins against the Bengals because of Mayfield, that number he's looking for suddenly becomes a much more interesting conversation.

How long is the leash on Kirk Cousins?

This might be the most fascinating quarterback situation of the three.

The Raiders have decided that Kirk Cousins will start Week 1, while Fernando Mendoza, the first overall pick in the 2026 draft, will begin the season on the sideline.

And that's where things get interesting.

Nobody expects the Raiders to rush Mendoza onto the field just because they drafted him first overall. Cousins is a veteran who has started plenty of NFL games, and if he plays well, there is no reason for Las Vegas to make a change.

But what happens if he doesn't?

One bad game probably won't be enough. Neither would two. But if Cousins struggles for the first month of the season, how long can the Raiders justify keeping the first overall pick on the bench?

The Raiders don't just need to find out whether Cousins can help them win right now. They also need to find out what they have in Mendoza.

If Cousins is playing well, the decision is easy. If he's not, things could get interesting very quickly.

And that's why this Week 1 game against the Dolphins matters. We're not just watching Cousins. We're watching how long the Raiders are willing to wait before finding out what their future looks like.