If you’ve been staring at today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle and feeling like your brain is melting, you’re not alone. The February 23rd edition, puzzle number 518, brings some genuinely clever wordplay that’ll make you question your own intelligence for a solid five minutes.
The real kicker? That purple category is absolutely brutal.
When Team Names Get Weird
Let’s talk about what makes today’s puzzle particularly annoying in the best way possible. The purple grouping asks you to think about NFL teams, but with a twist. A literal twist of their names, actually. The first letter of each team gets swapped out for something completely different.
So you’re looking at words like “bolts” (Colts), “crowns” (Browns), “hackers” (Packers), and “paints” (Saints). It’s the kind of puzzle that makes you feel dumb for not getting it immediately, then brilliant once you do figure it out. That’s the sweet spot for any good technology-powered game like this one.
The Athletic, which publishes Connections: Sports Edition through its subscription platform, clearly has a team of puzzle designers who enjoy torturing sports fans on a daily basis. And honestly? It works.
The Rest of Today’s Answers
The other three categories are slightly more forgiving, though “slightly” is doing heavy lifting here.
The yellow group hits you with heckle-themed words: boo, hiss, hoot, and jeer. If you’ve ever been to a live sporting event, these should come naturally. It’s the kind of category that feels obvious once you know what you’re looking for.
Then there’s the Space Jam connection. Characters from the 1996 movie (or the more recent remake, though let’s be honest about which one people actually remember) give you Bugs, Jordan, Lola, and Tweety. This one’s for the nostalgic crowd, and it’s surprisingly accessible.
The green category rounds things out with Florida college teams: Bulls, Gators, Owls, and Seminoles. If you follow college sports or have any connection to the state, this should be your easiest group.
Why Sports Edition Hits Different
What separates Connections: Sports Edition from the regular Connections puzzle is obvious in the name. But there’s something about sports-themed wordplay that feels fresher than generic categories. You’re not just matching words; you’re matching concepts that sports fans actually care about.
The puzzle doesn’t exist in the NYT Games app, which is worth noting. You’ll need to either grab The Athletic’s app or play it free online if you want access. It’s a slight barrier to entry, but for dedicated players, it’s worth the hassle.
These puzzles have this weird way of making you feel simultaneously smarter and dumber than you actually are. One minute you’re confidently moving through the yellow category, and the next minute you’re completely stumped by four words that should have obvious connections. That’s exactly what happened with today’s NFL twist.
The real question isn’t whether you’ll eventually solve it. It’s how many hints you’ll need before you get there.
