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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, featuring a lot of clues that begin with W. 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: Don’t lose!
Green group hint: Double you.
Blue group hint: Slang for certain sports teams.
Purple group hint: Meet at the quarterback.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Victory.
Green group: Pro teams whose names start with W.
Blue group: Colloquial nicknames for college teams.
Purple group: Players with 20-plus sacks in a season.
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 Jan. 21, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is victory. The four answers are dub, triumph, W and win.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is pro teams whose names start with W. The four answers are Warriors, White Sox, Wild and Wizards.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is colloquial nicknames for college teams. The four answers are Cats, Hoos, Vols and Zags.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is players with 20-plus sacks in a season. The four answers are Garrett, Houston, Ware and Watt.
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