This NFL puzzle ran on Sep 15, 2026. The task was to connect Kevin Jones to Dwayne Bowe with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include an MVP winner.” Par was 3 links.
Kevin Jones (RB) played in the NFL from 2004 to 2008. Career stops: the Detroit Lions (2004 to 2007) and the Chicago Bears (2008). College: Virginia Tech. 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.
Dwayne Bowe (WR) played in the NFL from 2007 to 2016. Career stops: the Kansas City Chiefs (2007 to 2014) and the Cleveland Browns (2015 to 2016). College: LSU. 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.
Kevin Jones and Dwayne Bowe 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 an award objective. At least one player in the chain has to be a winner of the named honor. Of the 17,973 players in the pool, 28 satisfy it. The best known are Peyton Manning (QB, 1998 to 2015), LaDainian Tomlinson (RB, 2001 to 2011), Brett Favre (QB, 1991 to 2010), Marshall Faulk (RB, 1994 to 2005), Emmitt Smith (RB, 1990 to 2004), and Kurt Warner (QB, 1998 to 2009).
3 of those players share a team or college with Kevin Jones, and 4 share one with Dwayne Bowe. The Start is the tighter side, so working forward from Kevin Jones 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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