Week 6 spun a wild tale with Giants’ upset and a Sunday night shootout among playoff hopefuls. Four players headline ESPN’s HIMMY race: Mahomes, Mayfield, Drake Maye and Rico Dowdle. Mahomes engineered a multi-TD night as KC beat Detroit, while Mayfield steered TB to 5-1 with a late 45-yard strike to Tez Johnson. Maye sparked NE with three TDs, and Dowdle piled up 239 yards from scrimmage for CAR in a win over his former team, DAL. Fans cast their votes this week after the Monday slate.

Brian Branch was suspended one game for unsportsmanlike conduct after striking JuJu Smith-Schuster in the facemask and triggering a postgame melee following the Chiefs’ 30-17 win. He can appeal and will miss the Lions’ Monday matchup with Tampa Bay, returning the day after. The incident involved Patrick Mahomes and Isiah Pacheco as teammates tried to intervene, underscoring how quickly emotions flare after a heated game. Detroit’s defense takes a hit in Week 9, with fantasy impacts rotating around the Lions and Chiefs alike.

Dak Prescott leads a potent Cowboys offense that still leans on explosive plays even without CeeDee Lamb for stretches. His pace rivals the top passers in yards and TDs, while Pickens steps up as a clear secondary catalyst. The Romo comparison frames a franchise built on volume rather than one playoff run, setting up strong weekly fantasy upside in shootouts.

Dallas’ defense invites high-scoring games, so Dak’s weekly ceiling can swing with game flow. Rico Dowdle surfaces as a backfield dart throw in favorable scripts, and the overall arc remains the 30-year NFC Championship drought looming over strategy and lineup choices for late-season pushes.