This NFL puzzle ran on Aug 29, 2026. The task was to connect Kareem Hunt to Brian Cushing with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a Georgia Tech alum.” Par was 3 links.
Kareem Hunt (RB) played in the NFL from 2017 to 2025. Career stops: the Kansas City Chiefs (2017 to 2025) and the Cleveland Browns (2019 to 2023). College: Toledo. 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.
Brian Cushing (OLB) played in the NFL from 2009 to 2017. A one-team career, spent with the Houston Texans (2009 to 2017). College: USC. 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.
Kareem Hunt and Brian Cushing 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, 147 satisfy it. The best known are Calvin Johnson (WR, 2007 to 2015), Demaryius Thomas (WR, 2010 to 2019), Keith Brooking (LB, 1998 to 2012), Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, 2023 to 2026), Pat Swilling (LB, 1990 to 1998), and Daryl Smith (OLB, 2004 to 2016).
15 of those players share a team or college with Kareem Hunt, and 10 share one with Brian Cushing. The Finish is the tighter side, so it often pays to work backward from Brian Cushing.
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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