This NFL puzzle ran on Aug 5, 2026. The task was to connect Dak Prescott to Bo Nix with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a Mississippi alum.” Par was 3 links.
Dak Prescott (QB) played in the NFL from 2016 to 2026. A one-team career, spent with the Dallas Cowboys (2016 to 2026). College: Mississippi State. Honors in the dataset: Offensive Rookie of the Year. As the Start of the chain, a household name like this gives you a lot of teammates to branch from, which makes it a friendly place to begin.
Bo Nix (QB) played in the NFL from 2024 to 2026. A one-team career, spent with the Denver Broncos (2024 to 2026). College: Oregon and Auburn. As the Finish of the chain, a household name like this gives you a lot of teammates to branch from, which makes it a friendly place to begin.
Dak Prescott and Bo Nix do not share a team or a college, so there is no direct link. You need at least one connector in between, and the objective decides which ones are allowed to count.
This was a college objective. The chain has to pass through a player from the named school at some point, not necessarily as a link to the Start or Finish. Of the 17,973 players in the pool, 205 satisfy it. The best known are Patrick Willis (ILB, 2007 to 2014), Eli Manning (QB, 2004 to 2019), Tim Bowens (DL, 1994 to 2004), Evan Engram (TE, 2017 to 2026), A.J. Brown (WR, 2019 to 2026), and DK Metcalf (WR, 2019 to 2026).
9 of those players share a team or college with Dak Prescott, and 15 share one with Bo Nix. The Start is the tighter side, so working forward from Dak Prescott narrows the options fastest.
One shortest chain found by searching the full player pool, preferring the best known names at every step:
Many other chains work. Scoring rewards lower-profile connectors, so the best-known route is rarely the highest scoring one.
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