Week 6 Booms and Busts: Cowboys, Colts bring carnival fun for fantasy football while Browns offer ghost town

https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/week-6-booms-and-busts-cowboys-colts-bring-carnival-fun-for-fantasy-football-while-browns-offer-ghost-town-231247147.html

I don’t know if the Dallas Cowboys are going anywhere this year. After Sunday’s loss at Carolina, they’re sitting at 2-3-1. Like most NFL clubs, this is a flawed team. But the 2025 Cowboys are looking like a fantasy cheat code, the ultimate carnival. These guys move the ball easily, and they let their opponent drive at will, too.

Fantasy football as it oughta be.

Week 6 followed the script nicely, with the Panthers scoring a 30-27 victory over the Cowboys. Carolina rolled up 410 yards of offense and 27 first downs. The Dallas defense can’t stop a nosebleed right now.

There were two primary Carolina fantasy angles we cared about, and both of them came in. Start with Rico Dowdle, who smashed in his revenge game against Dallas — 239 total yards, 34 touches, one touchdown. If you’re a Chuba Hubbard manager (I’m solemnly raising my hand), things look bleak. Dowdle has been so dynamic the last two games, I can’t imagine how Hubbard gets the full-time job back when everyone is healthy.

Tetairoa McMillan was a volume guy without touchdowns entering Week 6. The script flipped here — McMillan scored twice, but had a modest 3-29-2 line on five targets. No matter. He’s never looked like a rookie, and Carolina will often be playing from behind. He’s going to easily pay off his ADP if he stays healthy.

If you needed to stream Carolina QB Bryce Young, it went fine. Young threw for three touchdowns and had 199 passing yards, good enough to put him in the top half of quarterbacks for the week. Young’s one interception wasn’t his fault, and the 114.8 QB rating was the second highest of his career. Even if we just want Young to play well enough to support McMillan and the backfield, this was an encouraging sign.

Then again, everyone looks good throwing against Dallas. Entering Week 6, the Pokes were handing out 8.4 YPA and a juicy 117.2 rating. To put that in context, Lamar Jackson posted a league-best 119.6 rating last year.

Want to be a star? Throw it against the helmeted one.

Cowboys feature back Javonte Williams didn’t get going against the Panthers (34 total yards), though he PPR-scammed five short receptions. But the main parts of the Dallas passing game came home. Forever-underrated Dak Prescott chucked for 261 yards and three touchdowns, and two of the scores came to fantasy-reliable George Pickens (9-168-1) and Jake Ferguson (3-33-1). It will be interesting to see how much market share Pickens maintains when CeeDee Lamb (ankle) is able to return; that might be next week.

If you feel like Dallas plays the same type of game every Sunday, the deeper metrics support that theory. Dallas entered the week slotted fifth in offensive DVOA and a horrid 31st in defensive DVOA. That’s what a good carnival does — move the ball consistently, then let the other guys move it.

Pinball football. Easy on the eyes, fun on the scoresheet.

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Now that we’re in the middle of October, it’s fair to look ahead at the schedule and dream those championship dreams. Dallas gets the Vikings, Chargers and Commanders in the money games, Weeks 15-17. Start planning accordingly. If you need a preview of that late-season Dallas-Washington point parade, they’re also playing in Week 7.

Colts might be the AFC’s best carnival

Indianapolis improved to 5-1 on Sunday, edging past the Cardinals, 31-27. Despite playing with backup QB Jacoby Brissett, the Cardinals easily navigated for 25 first downs and 400 total yards. The Indianapolis defense has stopped two lesser opponents — Miami and Tennessee — but every bonafide opponent has done well against this unit.

No worry to the Colts, of course; they can simply outscore you. Daniel Jones tossed for two touchdowns and also ran one in, and he was mostly error-free (one pick, one sack taken). That hashes out to a 101.0 rating. Jonathan Taylor could be the most important player in fantasy leagues, racking up another 137 total yards and a rushing score. Michael Pittman Jr. had a slow day downfield (just two catches), but TE Tyler Warren (6-63-1) and WR Josh Downs (6-42-1) paid off. And the Colts keep the tree fairly narrow — only seven players were targeted.

QB Kyler Murray (foot) obviously isn’t going to lose his job in Arizona, but nobody missed him Sunday. Brissett is one of the better backups in the NFL and he showed up, throwing for 320 yards and two touchdowns against one pick. The backfield was split between Bam Knight (12 touches, 54 yards, one score) and Michael Carter (11 touches, 64 total yards, no scores). Hard to declare a winner there. Trey McBride scored a rare touchdown (8-72-1) — we always wonder if his red-zone woes are more a comment on Murray, not McBride. Sophomore Marvin Harrison Jr. suffered a second-half concussion and did not return.

If you like what the Colts are cooking, next week at the Chargers could be a pinball game. The Indianapolis schedule for the fantasy playoffs slots this way: at the Seahawks, then home for the 49ers and Jaguars.

Browns more of a haunted hayride than carnival

What’s the opposite of a fantasy carnival? Maybe a ghost town? Whatever it is, the Cleveland Browns take up that space. Cleveland entered the week ranked 30th in DVOA offense and sixth in DVOA defense. They’ll stop you, but they’ll also stop themselves. I try to rewatch every game on the short cuts during the week, but the Browns test my resolve.

Pittsburgh beat Cleveland in the expected rock fight Sunday, 23-9. There weren’t a lot of fantasy winners here, other than Pittsburgh wideout DK Metcalf (4-95-1, nine targets). Jaylen Warren was efficient on the ground (11-52-0), but Kenneth Gainwell and Kaleb Johnson also had six carries each. Yuck. Aaron Rodgers threw a second touchdown, and of course it was to afterthought Connor Heyward, a reserve tight end.

This is not a fantasy-friendly offense.

Quinshon Judkins ran fine for Cleveland (12-36-0) but was game-scripted out of the action. Rookie QB Dillon Gabriel averaged just 4.3 YPA and targeted 10 players on his 52 downfield pass attempts. Harold Fannin Jr. cobbled together 7-81-0 on 10 looks, but 13 Jerry Jeudy targets netted just five catches for 43 yards.

The Browns had five quarterback answers when spring came around, and it’s possible none of them were actually right ones. Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, of course, are gone. Deshaun Watson might be finished in the NFL, period. Gabriel hasn’t shown much. Shedeur Sanders is a long shot at best, but you figure he’ll get a chance later in the year.

Cleveland will look to win ugly against Miami and New England the next two weeks. For the fantasy playoffs, the nasty Browns defense will take aim at three cold-weather opponents — the Bears, Bills and Steelers.

https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/week-6-booms-and-busts-cowboys-colts-bring-carnival-fun-for-fantasy-football-while-browns-offer-ghost-town-231247147.html