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NFL Week 5's top performance?: Check the fan-voted 'Himmy' Award leaderboard

  • ESPN staffOct 6, 2025, 07:49 PM ET

Week 5 opened with the season's second overtime game Thursday, then delivered five double-digit rallies on a Sunday packed with tight divisional tilts and even a rookie quarterback making his first start overseas.

No matter the box score, several players across the league stood out.

But only one player can be "him."

Ahead of this week's "Monday Night Football" showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars, it was time to decide who earned the honor on Sunday.

Here are the fan-voted results for ESPN's NFL Week 4 "Himmy" Award:

Here's how each "Himmy" nominee made his case in Week 5.

ESPN Research contributed to this story.

New England Patriots WR Stefon Diggs

Stats to know: 10 receptions, 146 yards

Diggs put on a familiar show in his first return to Orchard Park since leaving Buffalo in 2024, torching his former team as the Patriots edged the Buffalo Bills 23-20.

Diggs did most of his damage after halftime, stacking 119 yards in the second half. His yards after the catch popped too, with 61 on the night after just 70 over his first four games combined. His 146 receiving yards are the fourth most by any Patriots player in a game against the Bills, trailing only Wes Welker, Stanley Morgan and Rob Gronkowski. With the win, New England tightened the AFC East race and knocked the NFL's last unbeaten team from the ranks.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka

Stats to know: 7 receptions, 163 yards, 1 TD

The Buccaneer stacked 150 receiving yards -- Tampa Bay's third rookie to ever hit that mark -- and became only the sixth player in NFL history to post over 400 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his first five games, joining the likes of Randy Moss and Ja'Marr Chase.

Egbuka's five scores also tie Mike Evans (2024) for the third most by a Buc through the team's first five games. In a 38-35 win over the Seahawks that featured seven straight touchdown drives and both quarterbacks completing more than 80% on 30-plus attempts, Egbuka kept delivering.

Tampa Bay's late-game magic continued too, as the Bucs notched another go-ahead score in the final minute -- their fourth such win in five games.


Washington Commanders RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Stats to know: 14 carries, 111 yards, 2 TDs

The No. 245 selection in the 2025 NFL draft became the first Commanders rookie since Alfred Morris (2012) to post 150 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, catching both of his targets for 39 yards to round out a breakout day. His surge helped flip the script for Washington after the Commanders trailed 10-0 in the second quarter, sparking 27 unanswered points. The result was the franchise's third-largest win when down double digits entering the second frame.

Thrust up the depth chart after Austin Ekeler's season-ending Achilles injury in Week 2, Croskey-Merritt has made the most of the opportunity and then some.


Carolina Panthers RB Rico Dowdle

Stats to know: 23 carries, 206 yards, 1 TD

In his first start for Carolina in place of the injured Chuba Hubbard, the free agent pickup ripped off 206 rushing yards -- second most in Panthers history and just 5 shy of DeAngelo Williams' record.

Dowdle gashed Miami with second-half bursts of 53 and 43 yards, and Carolina dominated the ground game despite three injured starters up front, posting 237 rushing yards to the Dolphins' 19. Dowdle added a 1-yard fourth-quarter touchdown as the Panthers tied a franchise mark with a 17-point comeback and stayed unbeaten at home.

He amassed 100 yards after contact, a career best and the most by a Panther since Jonathan Stewart's 114 in 2009. Dowdle also became Carolina's first player with over 200 scrimmage yards in a game since Christian McCaffrey in 2019.

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