How to play Mr. Irrelevant

Mr. Irrelevant is a daily football trivia game. Everyone gets the same 7 questions each day, and the more obscure your correct answer, the farther your running back carries the ball.

The basics

Each play starts with a snap. Once the quarterback has the ball, a question appears, such as "Name a Steelers quarterback since 1999" or "Name a team that won the national championship." You have 25 seconds to answer. If your guess isn't on the list, you can keep guessing until the clock runs out. A correct answer gets handed off and run upfield. If time expires, a flag comes in and the play gains nothing.

Four of the seven daily questions are about the NFL and three are about college football. Each question shows a banner telling you which league it's about. Some ask for players; others ask for teams, coaches, stadiums, bowl games, rivalries, awards, penalties, formations, and football culture.

Why obscure answers win

The name comes from the NFL Draft tradition of calling the last pick "Mr. Irrelevant." In this game, the obvious answer is the worst answer. Every accepted answer has a rarity tier based on how well-known it is: things like career production, Pro Bowls, starts, titles, and how recently a player was active.

• Checkdown, 3 yards: Everybody said this.
• Starter, 8 yards: A solid name.
• Everyone's Sleeper, 4 yards: The "obscure" pick everybody thinks only they know.
• Rotational, 15 yards: Real fans know.
• Practice Squad, 25 yards: Deep cut.
• Mr. Irrelevant, 50 yards: The day's hidden gem.

Every question also has one hidden gem worth 50 yards. After you finish, the results page shows every accepted answer grouped by tier, with the gem hidden behind letter tiles you can flip one at a time.

Drives and touchdowns

Each drive starts at your own 25-yard line, like a touchback. Seventy-five yards scores a touchdown, and the next drive starts back at the 25 with whatever plays you have left. A great day can mean two or three touchdowns.

Typing answers

Use a full name for people, like "Dak Prescott." If you make a typo, the game asks "Did you mean" and you can tap the right name. When the question already gives part of the name, such as "first name is Jordan," you can type only the rest, like "Love." Awards, bowls, stadiums, and formations count without their last word, so "Biletnikoff" counts for the Biletnikoff Award and "I" counts for the I formation.

Streaks, gear, and friends

A new game starts at midnight Eastern. Play every day to build a streak and unlock new jerseys and fields. Sign in with Google to keep your history on every device and compare yards with friends on a daily leaderboard. Earlier days are in the archive, though replays don't extend your streak.

Questions people ask

Is it free?

Yes. The daily game and the archive are free. A one-time $5 Unlimited unlock gives you as many extra runs as you want and removes ads.

Where do the answers come from?

NFL rosters, drafts, statistics, and game results come from nflverse. College rosters and schedules come from ESPN data published by SportsDataverse. Championships, awards, and culture lists are compiled by hand.

I know a correct answer that wasn't accepted.

Rosters before 1999 can have gaps, and hand-made lists can miss things. Past answers are listed in full on the answers page.