This NFL puzzle ran on Oct 20, 2026. The task was to connect Willie Gay Jr. to Michael Strahan with a chain of real players. The objective: “Your chain must include an MVP winner.” Par was 4 links. A search of the full player pool found a shortest chain of 3 links.
Willie Gay Jr. (LB) played in the NFL from 2020 to 2026. Career stops: the Kansas City Chiefs (2020 to 2023), the New Orleans Saints (2024), and the Miami Dolphins (2025 to 2026). College: Mississippi State. 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.
Michael Strahan (DL) played in the NFL from 1993 to 2007. A one-team career, spent with the New York Giants (1993 to 2007). College: Texas Southern. Honors in the dataset: Defensive Player 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.
Willie Gay Jr. and Michael Strahan 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 17,971 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).
7 of those players share a team or college with Willie Gay Jr., and 2 share one with Michael Strahan. The Finish is the tighter side, so it often pays to work backward from Michael Strahan.
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.
Want more? Browse the full NFL puzzle archive, read the strategy guides, or see how scoring works on How to Play.