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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, although I got a kick out of the blue group. 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: Torso clothing.
Green group hint: Start your engines.
Blue group hint: Team towns.
Purple group hint: Blue Devils.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Upper-body wear.
Green group: Flags in NASCAR.
Blue group: Last words in two-word NFL team locations.
Purple group: Duke players drafted No. 1 in NBA.
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 Feb. 19, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is upper-body wear. The four answers are jersey, pinnie, sweater and tee.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is flags in NASCAR. The four answers are checkered, green, red and yellow.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is last words in two-word NFL team locations. The four answers are (Green) Bay, (Kansas) City, (New) England and (San) Francisco.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is Duke players drafted No. 1 in NBA. The four answers are Banchero, Brand, Flagg and Irving.
