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NYT Connections Sports Edition · #716

NYT Connections Sports Edition Hints & Answers (#716) — September 9, 2026

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Earlier Sep 8 This puzzle Sep 9 Later Sep 10

“Lock in the most physical, bring-it-from-home items first — that group is your fastest win and clears the board for the harder ones.Today's puzzle has BRANCH and WALKER, both carrying history. BRANCH appeared in Connections #693 (Aug 17, 2026) as part of Raiders enshrined in the Hall of Fame. WALKER appeared in Connections #687 (Aug 11, 2026) as part of NFL running backs.”

NYT Sports Connections hints for September 9, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

1

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 BANGLESThe 80s band is the bait; rearrange the letters and you get BENGALS, Cincinnati's striped squad.
2 BRADYTom Brady, the most decorated Super Bowl MVP in history with five awards.
3 BRANCHDeion Branch, wide receiver and Super Bowl XXXIX MVP for the New England Patriots.
4 CENTURYLINKThe stadium's name from 2011 to 2021, after the telecom company CenturyLink.
5 CHAIRSThe folding kind — no tailgate is complete without somewhere to sit.
6 COOLERSlang for jail and a style compliment, but at a tailgate it's the ice-filled chest holding your drinks.
7 EDELMANJulian Edelman, wide receiver and Super Bowl LIII MVP despite the game's record-low score.
8 GRILLThe charcoal or gas unit that cooks the burgers in the parking lot.
9 KINGDOMEThe original domed stadium where the Seahawks played until it was demolished in 2000.
10 LUMENThe current corporate name of the Seahawks' stadium, in use since 2021.
11 PATS TRIORearrange all eight letters and you get PATRIOTS — the New England kind.
12 QWESTThe stadium's name from 2004 to 2011, sponsored by the phone company Qwest.
13 SABRELooks like an NHL team or a sword; unscramble it and you get BEARS, as in Chicago.
14 TENTThe pop-up canopy that keeps sun and rain off your tailgate setup.
15 TREELESSScramble the eight letters and STEELERS emerges — Pittsburgh's steel-curtain defense included.
16 WALKERFulton Walker, Miami Dolphins return specialist who won Super Bowl XVII MVP — his kickoff return touchdown was the defining play of that game.
2

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint Pack these before you park outside the stadium.
See Group TAILGATING NEEDS
See WordCOOLER
See WordGRILL
See WordTENT
See WordCHAIRS
See Hint Each of these surnames once held the Lombardi trophy after the final whistle.
See Group SUPER BOWL MVPS
See WordBRANCH
See WordWALKER
See WordBRADY
See WordEDELMAN
See Hint One Seattle address has worn all four of these signs.
See Group NAMES OF SEAHAWKS STADIUMS
See WordLUMEN
See WordCENTURYLINK
See WordQWEST
See WordKINGDOME
See Hint Treat each entry as a jumble — the real answer is hiding in the letters.
See Group ANAGRAMS OF NFL TEAMS
See WordPATS TRIO
See WordTREELESS
See WordSABRE
See WordBANGLES
3

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 BRANCH Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably picturing a tree limb or a company division — but the puzzle is using it as a proper noun in a sports context, not a generic noun at all.
2 BANGLES Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the 1980s pop band or wrist jewelry — but the puzzle is using it as a disguised form of something else entirely, so read it as raw letters rather than a word.
3 SABRE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as a sword or an NHL franchise — but the puzzle is treating it as raw material to be rearranged, not a standalone sports reference.
4 PATS TRIO Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as a direct nod to the Patriots — but the puzzle wants you to look past the surface meaning and treat those eight letters as a starting point, not a destination.

NYT Sports Connections answers for September 9, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y TAILGATING NEEDS · Yellow · easiest
  • COOLER
  • GRILL
  • TENT
  • CHAIRS

COOLER, GRILL, TENT and CHAIRS are all things you haul to a tailgate party. COOLER is the sneakiest — it also means a jail cell or something stylish, but here it's simply the ice chest keeping your drinks cold.

G SUPER BOWL MVPS · Green · easy
  • BRANCH
  • WALKER
  • BRADY
  • EDELMAN

BRANCH, WALKER, BRADY and EDELMAN are all Super Bowl MVP winners by last name. BRANCH is the trickiest — Deion Branch won MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX, a fact that hides behind a very ordinary-looking word.

B NAMES OF SEAHAWKS STADIUMS · Blue · medium
  • LUMEN
  • CENTURYLINK
  • QWEST
  • KINGDOME

LUMEN, CENTURYLINK, QWEST and KINGDOME are all names the Seattle Seahawks' home stadium has carried over the years. KINGDOME is the oldest — the domed multipurpose stadium demolished in 2000 that started it all.

P ANAGRAMS OF NFL TEAMS · Purple · hardest
  • PATS TRIO
  • TREELESS
  • SABRE
  • BANGLES

PATS TRIO, TREELESS, SABRE and BANGLES are all anagrams of NFL team names — PATRIOTS, STEELERS, BEARS and BENGALS respectively. BANGLES is the cruelest trap: it looks like a misspelling of Bengals, but it's actually a full anagram with every letter reshuffled.

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