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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. 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: Ouch!
Green group hint: Block or protect.
Blue group hint: Not Mark, Luke or John.
Purple group hint: Birmingham Stallions.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Injury verbs.
Green group: Defends.
Blue group: Baseball Matts.
Purple group: Teams in the original USFL.
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 Dec. 16, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is injury verbs. The four answers are fracture, pull strain and tear.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is defends. The four answers are blankets, covers, guards and marks.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is baseball Matts. The four answers are Carpenter, Chapman, Holliday and Olson.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is teams in the original USFL. The four answers are Bandits, Express, Generals and Wranglers.
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