This NFL puzzle ran on Sep 5, 2026. The task was to connect Jermichael Finley to Kyle Pitts with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include a Michigan alum.” Par was 3 links.
Jermichael Finley (TE) played in the NFL from 2008 to 2013. A one-team career, spent with the Green Bay Packers (2008 to 2013). College: Texas. 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.
Kyle Pitts (TE) played in the NFL from 2021 to 2026. A one-team career, spent with the Atlanta Falcons (2021 to 2026). College: Florida. 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.
Jermichael Finley and Kyle Pitts 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, 303 satisfy it. The best known are Charles Woodson (DB, 1998 to 2015), Ty Law (DB, 1995 to 2009), Tom Brady (QB, 2000 to 2022), Anthony Thomas (RB, 2001 to 2007), Brandon Graham (DE, 2010 to 2025), and Amani Toomer (WR, 1996 to 2008).
15 of those players share a team or college with Jermichael Finley, and 11 share one with Kyle Pitts. The Finish is the tighter side, so it often pays to work backward from Kyle Pitts.
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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