Week 6 of NFL action is in the books and “exciting” doesn’t quite do Sunday’s events any justice. Six games were decided by one score or less; 11 guys had at least 100 yards receiving; and multiple first place teams fell to lesser opponents.

MJD won MVP honors, and for the third week in a row I’ll attempt to pick a Waiver Wire Special to help the collective fantasy world limp through the NFL’s Week 7 schedule. And with all the last-second heroics witnessed throughout the league, this week’s highlight reel is a can’t miss.

Big Bertha’s back to reward the worthy with Week 6 hardware.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
With his first two-score performance since October of ‘07, MJD was far and away the fantasy MVP of Week 6. Technically Clinton Portis had the same number of touchdowns and accumulated more yardage, but the kicker here is that MJD hadn’t shown up all season. Coming into Sunday’s game against Denver, he was averaging just over 35 yards per game and had only scored three times.

Runners-Up

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys/Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints/Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
All three of these QBs have been among the top scoring fantasy options of 2008, and all three threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Additionally, none of them turned the ball over, which proved to be a problem for many of the other guys under center this weekend. They put nearly identical stat lines this past weekend and all provided a solid base for fantasy owners to build Week 6 wins around.

Clinton Portis, RB, Washington Redskins
For the third consecutive week, Portis carried the Washington offense by rushing for more than 120 yards, while adding the only two Washington touchdowns during Sunday’s loss to the previously winless Rams. Portis, who seemed to slip on many draft boards this summer, has been a workhorse on the gridiron as well as in the fantasy world. Guys with Portis on their roster may have stumbled upon 2008’s most consistent fantasy running back.

Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts
For the first time in 2008, Peyton Manning looked like Peyton Manning. He aired it out for 271 yards and three scores against a Ravens team that entered Sunday’s contest toting the NFL’s best defense. He completed 19-of-28 passing attempts and put the offense on his shoulders after running back Joseph Addai left the game with a hamstring injury after just two carries.

MOST SURPRISING PERFORMANCE

Patrick Cobbs, WR, Miami Dolphins
Cobbs had only two catches heading into the Fins game against Houston on Sunday. He added only three to that total during the game, but took those three touches for 138 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Entering the week, he was owned in only 0.1 percent of ESPN.com leagues. This performance, likely a one-hit-wonder, snuck up on the entire fantasy world.

Runners-Up

Michael Pittman, RB, Denver Broncos
Before Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, Pittman hadn’t rushed for 100 yards since October 16, 2005. Back then, he was a Buccaneer and he eclipsed the century-mark against a Dolphins team that was 2-3 at the time. This past weekend, Pittman ran for 109 yards on 20 carries. Although he couldn’t find the endzone, his rushing yardage provided his fantasy owners with a pleasant surprise in their Week 6 match-ups.

Warrick Dunn, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In the Bucs blowout over the Panthers, Dunn rushed for over 100 yards for the first time since Week 6 of 2006. He took 20 carries for 115 yards and added 18 yards receiving. Although he’s not started by many fantasy owners on either Yahoo! or ESPN, those who rolled the dice and did play him lucked their way into a decent fantasy performance by this seasoned vet.

Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis Colts
As the Colts worked the Ravens, Harrison hauled in two touchdowns for the first time since Christmas Eve of 2006. He missed much of 2007 due to injury and hadn’t posted significant fantasy numbers thus far in ‘08, but broke out with 83 yards and two scores in Week 6.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE

Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis Colts
Addai left Sunday’s game against the Ravens early with a hamstring injury. Prior to leaving, he took two carries for three yards. There is some speculation that he didn’t return to the game in the second half on Sunday because the Colts had the game in-hand. While Addai let fantasy owners down with zero fantasy points, there is a good chance he returns in Week 7 despite being listed as questionable.

Runners-Up

Terrell Owens, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Owens was a no-show in the Boys’ Week 6 loss in Arizona, catching only four balls for 36 yards. Not exactly the type of stat line owners would like to see from a guy capable of blowing up regularly throughout the season. His game may have been quiet on Sunday, but with Romo’s injury, a Pacman apology, and grumbling about Owens’ mouth coming from the Cowboys locker room, it seems the TO circus is back in the Big D.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers
As would be expected, Stewart saw a significant reduction in carries after his fellow running-back-by-commitee member DeAngelo Williams surprised everyone with a monster Week 5 performance.  In a Week 6 loss to Tampa, Stewart got only six carries and took them for a measly 12 yards. Both of those figures are career lows for the rookie out of Oregon.

Randy Moss, WR, New England Patriots
Moss was only able to catch three balls for 26 yards in a Sunday night loss to the Chargers. He would have doubled that yardage total, but he was unable to secure a deep pass from Cassell and he was pushed out of bounds near the goal line. Moss has been hit-or-miss all season without Brady and that will likely continune - erratic play has been Moss’ M.O. whenever he’s not happy with his quarterback situation.

CUTTABLE PLAYER

Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
It almost hurts me to suggest that the former Trojan is as good as done for the 2008 campaign. He sat out Week 6 and is already a Week 7 scratch. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has been mediocre at best and the NFL’s favorite loud-mouth Chad Ocho Cinco has been silenced all season. The Bengals are 0-6 and are miserable, so I’m going on record as saying that Palmer’s statisical production will not be a saving grace in ‘08. Scrap him and go with some young upside. (Or Brad Johnson with Romo gone for a month)

WAIVER WIRE SPECIAL

Dominic Rhodes, RB, Indianapolis Colts
With NFL bye weeks in full swing and injuries decimating much of the running back pool, it is safe to say many owners are in need of another fantasy option for Week 7. This should come in the form of Rhodes, who will likely see a majority of the Colts carries next week as Addai nurses a sore hamstring. And as Indy heads to Lambeau to take on the Pack, you can bet Dungy will plan on running the ball against the league’s 27th-ranked run defense.

DREAM LINEUP
QB - Drew Brees, NO
RB - Clinton Portis, WAS
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC
WR - Patrick Cobbs, MIA
WR - Andre Johnson, HOU
TE - Marcedes Lewis, JAC
K - Jason Elam, ATL
D/ST - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NIGHTMARE SQUAD
QB - Brett Favre, NYJ
RB - Joseph Addai, IND
RB - Felix Jones, DAL
WR - Randy Moss, NE
WR - Terrell Owens, DAL
TE - Tony Scheffler, DEN
K - Matt Stover, BAL
D/ST - Baltimore Ravens

HIGHLIGHT REEL (Best Play)

For the second straight week, the award for best play is going to differ a little from the norm.

Week 6 gave us a few come-from-behind victories, so we will be dishing out hardware for the best last second drives from Sunday.

The best game-winning play/drive goes to Sean Morey and the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards were tied at the end of regulation against a heavily favored Cowboys team and had lost the overtime coin toss. The ‘Boys offense was unable to move the ball on their first OT possession and were forced to punt. Morey broke into the backfield and blocked the kick. The loose ball was recovered by Monty Beisel, who stumbled his way to paydirt for the winning score.

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons finished in a close second this week a for their  game-winning drive to upset the Chicago Bears. The Bears went up 20-19 with just 11 ticks left on the clock. Bears kicker Robbie Gould squibbed the ensuing kickoff which the Falcons returned for 10 yards to their own 44 yard line. With six seconds on the clock, Ryan hit Michael Jenkins on a 26-yard out. Jenkins barely got both feet down before scooting out of bounds with one second on the clock. Veteran Jason Elam came in and nailed a 48-yard field goal to give the Falcons the win.

Second runner-up is Matt Schaub, who seemed to have the game locked up when Chad Pennington threw an interception late in the game. But, instead of kneeling after catching the pick and securing a victory, Eugene Wilson tried to run it back, was hit, and coughed up the ball. The Dolphins recovered and continued to drive down the field, capping off the possession with a Ronnie Brown six yard touchdown run. Schaub then brought the Texans offense back out onto the field and engineered a 12-play, 76-yard drive that culminated with a three-yard quarterback draw for the winning score.