Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for Jan. 17 #481
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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is tough. The blue group is a bit funny, once you recognize the connection. If you’re having trouble solving today’s riddle but still want to solve it, read on for tips and answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the Times-owned subscription sports journalism site. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it online for free.
Learn more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle exits beta
Tips for Connections Groups: Sports Today’s Edition
Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes weird) purple group.
Yellow group index: Leading the pack.
Green group index: Football division.
Blue group index: Like Bridges or Goldblum.
Purple group index: Takeoff.
Connections Group Answers: Today’s Sports Edition
Yellow group: In position n°1.
Green group: AFC East teams.
Blue group: Jeffs.
Purple group: Rockets.
Learn more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are the answers from today’s Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle completed by January 17, 2026.
Yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is in position #1. The four answers are first, before, leader and pole.
Green words in today’s Connections
The theme is AFC East teams. The four answers are Buffalo, Miami, New England and New York.
Blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Jeffs. The four answers are Bagwell, Kent, Saturday and Van Gundy.
Purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is rockets. The four answers are Clemens, Houston, Richard and Toledo.
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Quick Tips for Connections: Sports Edition
#1: Don’t choose the easiest group. For each word, think about what other sporting categories it might belong to: is it a word that can be used in football or to describe scoring options?
#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean something else, to trick you into thinking they are words and not names.
#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS may seem like an ordinary word, but it’s also the last name of at least one professional athlete.
