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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. If you know a Gen Z person, you might be familiar with their favorite nonsense phrase, “6-7.” The puzzle editors throw a 6 and a 7 into the puzzle today just to see if we’re paying attention. Do the numbers end up in the same group? I bet you know the answer to that one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Splish-splash.
Green group hint: Football score.
Blue group hint: Colorado QB.
Purple group hint: Not small.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Four primary swimming strokes.
Green group: Touchdown.
Blue group: Associated with John Elway.
Purple group: Big ____.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 21, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is four primary swimming strokes. The four answers are back, breast, fly and free.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is touchdown. The four answers are 6, paydirt, TD and tuddy.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with John Elway. The four answers are 7, Broncos, No. 1 pick and Stanford.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is Big ____. The four answers are 12, dance, leagues and ten.
Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories
The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.
That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.
#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.
#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.
#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.
#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.
