The September 6, 2026, NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, numbered 713, offers a mix of defensive terminology, famous surnames, and a deep dive into the current Houston Texans roster. Today’s challenge also includes a particularly clever purple category that relies on phonetic wordplay involving professional quarterbacks.
Hints for Today’s Connections
If you are looking for a nudge in the right direction without seeing the full solutions yet, here are some progressive hints for each color group.
Yellow: Defensive Duties
These four words describe the actions of a defender in various sports, particularly football or basketball, when they are tasked with preventing an opponent from making a play.
Green: Keeping Up With the Names
Each of these words represents a first name of a prominent athlete. While they play in different eras and different leagues (including the NFL and WNBA), they all share the same common last name.
Blue: Deep in the Heart of Texas
This group requires knowledge of the 2026 Houston Texans roster. These players represent the core of the team’s offense and defense.
Purple: Quarterback Wordplay
This is the trickiest category of the day. To solve it, you must take the last names of well-known quarterbacks and change exactly one letter (the first one) to create a common English word.
Spoiler Warning: The final answers and category groupings for puzzle #713 are listed below.
Connections: Sports Edition Answers for September 6
Yellow: Defend
- Blanket, Cover, Guard, Shield
These terms are frequently used by coaches and commentators to describe defensive positioning and the act of neutralizing an offensive threat.
Green: Joneses
- Daniel, Deacon, Jonquel, Mac
- The Connection: All four are famous athletes with the surname Jones. This group includes NFL players Daniel and Mac, Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones, and WNBA star Jonquel Jones.
Blue: Houston Texans
- Dell, Marks, Stingley, Stroud
- The Connection: This category features key members of the Houston Texans. This includes quarterback C.J. Stroud, wide receiver Tank Dell, and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. The inclusion of Woody Marks refers to the running back on the Texans’ 2026 roster.
Purple: NFL QBs with the First Letter Changed
- Cart, Cove, Dodgers, Though
- The Connection: These words are formed by changing the first letter of a professional quarterback’s last name:
- Jaxson Dart becomes Cart.
- Jordan Love becomes Cove.
- Aaron Rodgers becomes Dodgers.
- Tyler Shough becomes Though.
According to Technobezz, today’s puzzle requires a balance of general sports knowledge and specific roster awareness. If the Texans category or the QB wordplay proved difficult, focusing on the more straightforward “Defend” group often helps narrow down the remaining choices.
