Today's Strands Sports Edition is live for Tuesday, October 27, 2026 (Puzzle #7). Stuck on today's Strands Sports Edition? We've got progressive hints, from gentle nudges to full solutions, so you can solve at your own pace.
How Strands Sports Edition Works (New Players Start Here)
Strands Sports Edition is the free daily sports word search from The Athletic and NYT Games. It hides sports-themed words inside a 6x8 letter grid. Your mission: find every word connected to the day's theme. Letters link in any direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) and words can twist and turn. Every letter gets used exactly once.
The spangram is the key word or phrase that captures the theme and stretches across the entire board, touching two opposite sides.
Need a boost? Every three non-theme words you find (four letters or longer) earn a hint that highlights the letters of a theme word. A new puzzle arrives every day at midnight local time.
Theme Decoder
Today's Theme Prompt: "Test your arm strength"
What It Really Means
Think American football. You're hunting for NFL players' surnames.
Think About...
- Familiar faces from the NFC East.
- College standouts from the SEC.
- Buffalo's football roster.
Spangram Clues
Orientation: Top to bottom down the board
Letter Count: 12 letters
Starting Zone: Row 8, letter 5
Progressive Spangram Hints
Hint 1 (Gentle): Think of the voice directing the offensive huddle.
Hint 2 (Warmer): These players receive the snap and decide where to throw the football.
Hint 3 (Almost There): First letter is Q, last letter is S
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QUARTERBACKS
Word-by-Word Hints
Solve as many as you can before peeking. Each word includes escalating clues.
Word 1
Vague: A football passer whose surname also suggests a quick, pointed throw.
Closer: His first name is Jaxson, and he led the Ole Miss offense.
Letter Clue: Starts with D, 4 letters total
Answer
DART
Word 2
Vague: An NFL offensive leader known for making plays with his legs as well as his arm.
Closer: His first name is Jalen, and his college career included Alabama and Oklahoma.
Letter Clue: Starts with H, 5 letters total
Answer
HURTS
Word 3
Vague: A football passer who led a national championship team in college.
Closer: His first name is Joe, and he led LSU to a national championship.
Letter Clue: Starts with B, 6 letters total
Answer
BURROW
Word 4
Vague: An NFL passer whose surname also belongs in a Valentine's card.
Closer: His first name is Jordan, and he played at Utah State before joining Green Bay.
Letter Clue: Starts with L, 4 letters total
Answer
LOVE
Word 5
Vague: A football passer who rose from the final selection in the NFL draft.
Closer: His first name is Brock, and he played at Iowa State before joining San Francisco.
Letter Clue: Starts with P, 5 letters total
Answer
PURDY
Word 6
Vague: An NFL passer celebrated for his elusive running.
Closer: His first name is Lamar, and he won the Heisman Trophy at Louisville.
Letter Clue: Starts with J, 7 letters total
Answer
JACKSON
Word 7
Vague: A powerful NFL passer who played college football in Wyoming.
Closer: His first name is Josh, and Buffalo drafted him out of Wyoming.
Letter Clue: Starts with A, 5 letters total
Answer
ALLEN
Full Answers
Spangram: QUARTERBACKS
Theme Words:
- DART
- HURTS
- BURROW
- LOVE
- PURDY
- JACKSON
- ALLEN
Puzzle Debrief
Difficulty Rating: Medium, with the main hurdle being surname recognition.
Trickiest Word: DART is my pick for the trickiest entry because its everyday meaning fits the throwing prompt so neatly. That makes it easy to overlook the surname connection.
Our Take: The arm-strength prompt gives this puzzle a clear football direction, while QUARTERBACKS pins down the shared position. DART, LOVE, and BURROW add a pleasing wrinkle because they read as ordinary words until the surname pattern clicks.