This NFL puzzle ran on Aug 24, 2026. The task was to connect Mo Lewis to Shawne Merriman with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a Notre Dame alum.” Par was 3 links.
Mo Lewis (LB) played in the NFL from 1991 to 2003. A one-team career, spent with the New York Jets (1991 to 2003). College: Georgia. 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.
Shawne Merriman (OLB) played in the NFL from 2005 to 2012. Career stops: the Los Angeles Chargers (2005 to 2010) and the Buffalo Bills (2011 to 2012). College: Maryland. Honors in the dataset: Defensive Rookie of the Year. 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.
Mo Lewis and Shawne Merriman 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, 335 satisfy it. The best known are Jerome Bettis (RB, 1993 to 2005), Bryant Young (DL, 1994 to 2007), Tim Brown (WR, 1990 to 2004), Joe Montana (QB, 1990 to 1994), Greg Olsen (TE, 2007 to 2020), and Harrison Smith (FS, 2012 to 2026).
15 of those players share a team or college with Mo Lewis, and 33 share one with Shawne Merriman. The Start is the tighter side, so working forward from Mo Lewis 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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