Flag football was on full display Saturday in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, and Team USA flexed why it is the best collection of talent the sport has to offer right now. Despite facing some of the NFL's most elite players, Team USA cruised to a championship, winning all three contests, including the title game against the Joe Burrow-led Wildcats.
Team USA didn't just win; it was pure domination. It scored on every possession in all three contests, outside of one kneel before halftime. In all, it outscored opponents 106-44. Velton Brown Jr. and Housh Doucette were the standouts, as their collective speed and twitchiness made it nearly impossible for NFL players to "tackle" -- rip the flag off their waist.
While the first two matchups for Team USA were blowouts, the championship bout with the Wildcats was much closer. Kyle Shanahan deployed a strategy of slowing the game down to reduce the number of possessions Team USA would have, and that allowed the Wildcats to hang around. In the end, however, they found themselves on the wrong side of a 24-14 final score.
Here's a look at the final scores of each matchup:
Round robin Game 1
FINAL: Team USA 39, Wildcats FFC 14
Round robin Game 2
FINAL: Team USA 43, Founders FFC 16
Round robin Game 3
FINAL: Wildcats FFC 34, Founders FFC 26
Championship
FINAL: Team USA 24, Wildcats 14
For more on how the event unfolded, check out our takeaways below.
Both the Founders and Wildcats had only a couple of days of practice, and that lack of prep time showed. A large contingent of NFL talent struggled with the rules and overall gameplay. From a rules standpoint, NFL players were penalized far more than Team USA, with most penalties stemming from being too physical or blocking in situations where it wasn't permitted. Some of that can be chalked up to instincts from tackle football, but it put them behind the eight-ball on several occasions. NFL players also had a hard time ripping the flag away from Team USA ballcarriers.
Odell Beckham Jr., who is retired from the NFL, put together some vintage highlights. Most notably, the former Giants wideout turned back the clock with a remarkable one-handed catch in the back right corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion. With multiple defenders in front of him, Beckham leaped up and brought down a pass from Jayden Daniels to cut into Team USA's lead in their first matchup of the day.
One of the more intriguing elements of the event was Tom Brady, who is currently 48 years old and last played in the NFL in 2023, suiting up. The seven-time Super Bowl champion was part of Founders FFC and made his presence felt early. Jalen Hurts started the game at quarterback, but Brady entered during the Founders' first possession when they were in scoring position. On fourth down, Brady sidestepped a defender and fired a pass to Stefon Diggs in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
Brady looked sharp throughout his time on the field, but his Founders club did not advance to the championship after falling to the Wildcats in their second round-robin matchup.
There were no serious injuries, but the event wasn't entirely unscathed. In their first matchup, the Founders lost tight end Rob Gronkowski after he tweaked his hamstring on a two-point conversion reception from Brady. Gronkowski made the catch and tumbled out of bounds, appearing to hyperextend his leg while getting up.
On-field microphones caught Gronkowski acknowledging the injury almost instantly, and he did not return. However, he later told the broadcast he didn't believe the injury was too serious.
One of the main takeaways from these games is how Team USA should be constructed for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Based on what we saw, the United States wouldn't be best served simply putting together a team of NFL stars. The version of Team USA on display was head and shoulders better than the NFL-led squads.
If the goal is to bring home Olympic gold, this current iteration makes the most sense. However, if part of the mission is to grow the sport globally, incorporating NFL star power in some capacity could be important. It's a tightrope Team USA will need to walk -- balancing elite flag talent with marketable NFL names.
If we were to handpick two NFL players from Saturday to make the 2028 Olympic team, Jayden Daniels and DeVonta Smith stood out.
Daniels has a prior history playing flag football, and it showed. The way the Commanders quarterback evaded defenders by swinging his hips was unlike most NFL players and mirrored what we saw from Team USA. He also flashed his arm with a sensational end zone-to-end zone touchdown pass to Davante Adams. Daniels will be 27 when the 2028 Olympics arrive.
Meanwhile, Smith was another standout, hauling in multiple touchdowns and looking comfortable in the format. He also showed great awareness on a tip drill touchdown on a deep ball from Jalen Hurts that was initially intended for Stefon Diggs. Smith will be 29 at the time of the Olympics.
If we were to add one more, Joe Burrow could be in the mix. The Bengals quarterback appeared to take the games as seriously as anyone. While not known for his mobility, he delivered one of the highlights of the day, rushing to the 1-yard line after catching a shovel pass from Saquon Barkley.
Burrow could be aged out of consideration by 2028, however, as he'll be 31 when the Olympics arrive.
As expected, the Fanatics Flag Football Classic champions are Team USA. They were dominant in every sense of the word, scoring on every possession of each contest outside of one knee before halftime. That said, this championship game was much closer than the previous matchups, with the Wildcats slowing the game down.
The play of the day for the Wildcats came with Saquon Barkley pulling off a shovel pass to Joe Burrow, who ran it all the way down the field to the 1-yard line. Burrow later converted the touchdown (and 2-point conversion) to cut the Team USA lead to 18-14 with six minutes left in regulation.
The speed and twitchiness of Team USA have been the difference throughout the day, and it has started to allow them to pull away from the Wildcats in this championship game. Velton Brown Jr. and Housh Doucette have BLAZING speed, and it's nearly impossible for the Wildcats to get ahold of the flags.
The championship match has been much more competitive between the NFL-led Wildcats and Team USA. That's largely been thanks to the Wildcats intentionally slowing the game down, something Kyle Shanahan and Joe Burrow were caught talking about on the broadcast pregame. However, Team USA still has the 12-6 edge at the break.
The NFL players are starting to get the hang of it. In a gotta-have-it moment on fourth down, Jayden Daniels uncorked an end zone to end zone throw to Davante Adams for the touchdown. Adams was able to get behind the defense and was wide open.
The inexperience is apparent for the NFL players. The first few minutes of this championship game have been littered with penalties mostly because the NFL players don't have a full grasp of the rules of flag football.
The Wildcats have advanced to the Fanatics Flag Football Classic final against Team USA after a 34-26 win over the Founders. This was a much more competitive matchup between the two NFL-led squads. From my view, Jayden Daniels and Odell Beckham Jr. are the two NFL players who have the biggest knack for flag football, along with DeVonta Smith.
The matchup between the two NFL-led squads was much more tightly contested. The Wildcats hold an eight-point lead at the break thanks to a couple of DeVonta Smith touchdowns from Jalen Hurts. The winner will go on to face Team USA in the championship.
Jalen Hurts initially intended to throw it deep to Stefon Diggs on fourth down, but the ball was batted into the air and somehow fell into the arms of DeVonta Smith in the back of the end zone. Incredible.
The Philadelphia Eagles duo is making its presence felt in this latest matchup. After the opening score by the Wildcats, the Founders responded with Jalen Hurts uncorking a deep ball down the right sideline for Philly teammate DeVonta Smith for a touchdown.
Odell Beckham Jr. seems to have the hang of this flag football thing. He had a remarkable one-handed touchdown earlier and has once again found the end zone in the Wildcats' matchup with the Founders. On fourth down, Joe Burrow found the veteran receiver for a score in the back left corner of the end zone.
How far apart is Team USA from these two NFL-led teams? Through these two exhibitions, Team USA has outscored the Wildcats and Founders by a combined total of 82-30.
Team USA advances to the Fanatics Flag Football Classic Championship after rolling over the NFL-led teams. The latest victory was a 43-16 thumping of Team Founders, led by Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts. Team Founders had some moments, but ultimately were no match for the skill that Team USA brought. It's the NFL players' inability to rip the flag away and the pure speed by Team USA that has been the difference.
Team USA is now up 36-8 over the Founders with just three minutes into the second half. The offense scored a touchdown on a deep ball down the field. Then, Jalen Hurts was picked off on the first play of the Founders first possession of the half, and was returned for a touchdown. Domination by Team USA.
Once again, the story is Team USA's utter dominance. Despite having some all-time great NFL players on Team Founders, they find themselves in a massive deficit at the break. Team USA can get everything they want right now. Team Founders looked a bit better than Team Wildcats, but are still worlds behind Team USA.
Gronkowski hauled in a pass from Tom Brady for the extra point for the Founders, but did suffer a hamstring injury when slowing down out of bounds. He told Druski on the sideline that he's not playing the rest of the game.
The Founders look far more dialed in than the Wildcats. They got the scoring started against Team USA thanks to a remarkable throw from Tom Brady. He was able to sidestep a pass rusher and fire the ball to Diggs. Brady also had a stellar throw to Gronk for the extra point. The GOAT's still got it.
The opening contest of the Fanatics Flag Football Classic was really no contest. Team USA showed that you can't just go onto the field and expect to win, even if you're NFL stars. Team USA walked away with a 39-14 victory. The main storyline was the Wildcats' inability to grasp the flag for tackling. Will be curious to see if Team Founders has similar struggles.
The Odell Beckham Jr. takeover has started. The veteran receiver caught the touchdown from Joe Burrow to eat into Team USA's lead. Then, he made a ridiculous one-handed reception on the extra point attempt despite being draped in coverage.
Team USA's Nico Casares threw a beautiful deep ball for the touchdown and has completely opened this game up with a 25-6 lead. The Wildcats simply can't figure out how to defend.
At the break, Team USA showed they are (of course) far more comfortable in this format than the NFL stars, owning a 19-6 lead. There were some mental lapses from the NFL players, and they really seemed to struggle with "tackling" -- ripping the flag away from Team USA.
