Immaculate Grid has taken the sports world (or maybe just the sports fandom world) by storm. If you're not familiar, the daily game essentially tests your knowledge of players and the teams they played for, specifically asking participants to identify a player who played for the intersecting teams. There can be columns or rows for awards or achievements, too. Here's the grid from Tuesday.
The game originally started with MLB -- and my colleague Matt Snyder did an awesome job explaining the rules in-depth there -- and now also includes NBA. Bragging rights with your fellow sports fanatic friends is the most significant thing on the line.
Players must have played a regular-season game for the team(s), so, for example, while Josh Johnson has been a member of 14 different NFL rosters, he's appeared in a regular-season game for "only" eight. So he'll only be a correct answer for those eight. Furthermore, players who joined a new team this offseason don't count for that team, since they haven't appeared in a game for them (yet); DeAndre Hopkins wouldn't work for the Texans-Titans intersection above.
You are also rewarded for finding "rare" answers. For example, in the top left box above, the most popular answer is Joe Flacco, but going with Marcus Nash, a wide receiver who played 11 games with Denver and one with Baltimore, will earn you a better score. And if you remember Marcus Nash, props to you! Some people will wrack their brains all day, and others will put in the first player who comes to mind. Regardless of which camp you fall into, who doesn't love the simple pleasure of naming some guys?
Inevitably, you'll get stuck every once in a while, though. So we're here to help. First things first, let's knock out some categories:
- Make sure to know your Hall of Famers, your MVPs and your first-team All-Pros.
- Ten players have thrown for 40 touchdowns in a season
- Eight players have run for a 2,000 yards in a season, but 268 have run for 1,000 yards in a season.
- Thirty-nine players have at least 50 career interceptions.
Ok, and now for the guys who have donned uniforms aplenty. The loose criteria for this list is that they played for a lot of teams and are still recognizable enough names that you'd think of them ... eventually.
Ryan Fitzpatrick: How can we not start here? The lovable Harvard product started his career with the Rams, ended it with Washington (for all of one game and six pass attempts) and ultimately played for nine different clubs.
Josh McCown: McCown also played for nine different teams, and he even poked fun at his journeyman status with this hilarious tweet from 2016. You'll get major rarity points for remembering his stints with the Lions (two games, zero passes attempted), the Panthers (three games, six passes attempted) and the Eagles (three games, five passes attempted).
Vinny Testaverde: Across 21 NFL seasons, Testaverde appeared in a game for eight different teams, even making the Pro Bowl for two (the Ravens in 1996 and the Jets in 1998). Testaverde's value in Immaculate Grid really shines near the end of his career, when he played for four teams over his final four seasons.
Chris Chandler: Chandler played for eight different teams and, like Testaverde, made a pair of Pro Bowls along the way. Statistically, his best years were with the Cardinals, but for Immaculate Grid, his time with Buccaneers (0-6 in six starts) and the Oilers (now the Titans) really helps.
Adrian Peterson: The best player on this list, Peterson played for seven different teams despite spending the vast majority of his career with the Vikings. Peterson played for six teams over the final five seasons of his legendary career, and his final game was his only one with Seattle, and he even scored a touchdown.
Frank Gore: Nicknamed "The Inconvenient Truth," the inconvenient truth is Gore is a great name to have in your mental piggy bank for this game. The longtime 49ers legend played for four teams over his final four seasons: the Colts, Dolphins, Bills and Jets.
Brandon Marshall: The former star wide receiver had as many Pro Bowl selections as teams (six). He was a Pro Bowler with the Broncos, Dolphins, Bears and Jets, but he's even more valuable for Immaculate Grid purposes after squeezing in one season each with the Giants and the Seahawks to close out a terrific career. Make sure you choose the right "Brandon Marshall;" the linebacker played from 2012-18 while the wide receiver you're (likely) looking for played from 2006-18.
Wes Welker: Marshall and Welker both dominated at wide receiver in the late 2000s and into the 2010s and played for several of the same teams. Unlike Marshall, though, Welker sneaks in teams at the beginning and the end of his career. You probably know Welker with the Patriots and (perhaps) Broncos and Dolphins. But did you know Welker also played the first game of his career for the Chargers and his final eight games for the Rams?
Ricky Proehl: A two-time Super Bowl champion, Proehl played for seven different teams. Though he never made the Pro Bowl, Proehl has a memorable moment to his name, with the game-winning touchdown catch in the 1999 NFC Championship game for the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams, who went on to win the Super Bowl.
Dwight Freeney: Best known as a menace off the edge for the Colts, Freeney played with five more teams over his final four seasons. He's 18th all-time in career sacks.
Sam Adams: Linemen, naturally, are a bit harder to recall, but if you can remember the hulking Adams, he'll help you out a lot. Across a 14-year career, he suited up for six different teams, made three Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens.
Ted Washington: Known as "Mt. Washington," this four-time Pro Bowler played for seven different teams across 17 seasons. Washington was at his best with the Bills and Bears (he was a first-team All-Pro for Chicago in 2001) and also won a Super Bowl with the Patriots.
Terrell Buckley: Buckley is one of the aforementioned 39 players who has at least 50 career interceptions to his name, and he played for six teams, making him super valuable for this game. He had a four-interception season for four different organizations.
Mike Adams: It's hard to stick around the NFL for 15 years as a defensive back -- much less an undrafted one -- but that's exactly what Adams did. The Delaware product made a pair of Pro Bowls and played for six different teams.
John Carney: Carney spent 23 seasons in the NFL, and 19 of them were with either the Chargers or Saints. But he also played for the Buccaneers, Jaguars, Chiefs, Giants and Rams.
Shayne Graham: Kickers and punters are a treasure trove for this game if you can remember all of their teams, so I could go on and on here. But I won't. Graham kicked in a regular-season game for 10 teams. Most of his best work (including one Pro Bowl) came with the Bengals.
Billy Cundiff: Like Graham, Cundiff is a name you might only sort of know, but he's a great addition to your Immaculate Grid rotation. A Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro in 2010, Cundiff played for six teams, including the Bills, for whom he appeared in one game and handled kickoff duties. Cundiff was released shortly thereafter, and his replacement on the roster was none other than Josh Johnson. How's the for bringing things full circle?
