Teammates

Four pairs who were never teammates. Name someone who played with both.

Pair 1
Desmond Clark · Chicago Bears
and
Wes Welker · St. Louis Rams
Pair 2
Julius Peppers · Carolina Panthers
and
Alex Smith · Washington
Pair 3
Corey Dillon · New England Patriots
and
Brett Favre · Minnesota Vikings
Pair 4
Ben Roethlisberger · Pittsburgh Steelers
and
Chandler Jones · Las Vegas Raiders

Loading your progress…

What is Teammates?

Teammates is a daily NFL connection puzzle. You are shown two players who were never teammates and asked to name someone who played with both -- usually a well travelled man who was alongside one of them in one city and the other years later somewhere else. Four pairs a day, and seven guesses to cover all of them.

How to play Teammates

Two players who were never teammates. Name someone who played with both.

Not at the same time and not on the same team. The man who links them often played with one in one city and the other in another, years apart.

Four pairs a day, the same four for everyone, getting harder as you go.

Seven guesses for the whole day, not per pair. Four of them are the solves, so you have three misses to spend wherever you like.

Stuck on one? Skip it and come back. A skip costs you nothing, and the guesses you already spent on that pair are still there when you return.

Run out of guesses and the day ends where it stands. You can also give up, which costs you nothing more than stopping already does.

Your score is rarity: every correct guess adds the share of the day's solvers who named the same man, and every pair you did not solve adds 100. Lower is better.

That score moves all day as more people play, so the number you see in the morning is not the one you see at night.

Tips and scoring

Seven guesses cover the whole day and four of them are the solves, which leaves exactly three misses to spend across four pairs. Treat them as the scarce thing they are.

Skipping costs nothing, and the guesses you already spent on a pair are still there when you come back. Read all four pairs before committing to any of them, because the fourth is often easier for you than the second.

The scoring runs the opposite way to instinct. Your score is the share of the day's solvers who named the same man, added up across the day, and lower is better. An unusual correct link beats the obvious one.

That makes journeymen worth reaching for. A well travelled backup who passed through both clubs scores far better than the star everybody thinks of first.

The number moves all day as more people play, so the score you see in the morning is not the one you finish with.

Teammates questions

How many guesses do I get?

Seven for the whole day, not seven per pair. Four of those are the solves themselves, which leaves exactly three misses to spend across four puzzles.

Can I skip a pair and come back?

Yes, and a skip costs nothing. The guesses you already spent on a pair are still there when you return, so it is worth reading all four before committing to any of them.

How is the score worked out?

On rarity, and lower is better. Every correct answer adds the share of that day's solvers who named the same man, and every pair you did not solve adds 100. An obscure but correct link scores far better than the name everybody thinks of first.

Why did my score change during the day?

Because it is measured against the crowd, and the crowd is still arriving. The number you see in the morning is not the one you finish the day with.