NFL players have work to do if they want to compete with the best in flag football. Team USA’s flag football team went undefeated against two teams filled with NFL players and celebrities in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium on Saturday.
Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels’ Wildcats team lost two games to Team USA, including the championship bought, while Tom Brady and Jalen Hurts’ Founders squad was pummeled by Team USA and lost to the Wildcats as well to cap a winless day.
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Here are the winners and losers from Saturday’s Fanatics Flag Football Classic:
Winners
Darrell Doucette III
Doucette, a U.S. national team quarterback, made headlines when he said he was better at flag football than three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, but he backed up his words on Saturday. Doucette scored six total touchdowns and was named MVP of the event.
He made an early statement Saturday with the first touchdown of the day, and Team USA jumped out to an early 12-0 lead when Isaiah Calhoun intercepted Burrow and ran it into the end zone.
Team USA had a comfortable 19-6 lead over the Wildcats halftime, and routed the Wildcats 39-14 in the first game.
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In the second contest, Team USA scored 24 unanswered points in the first half, had no incomplete passes and obliterated Brady’s Founders 43-16 to advance to the championship game.
The Wildcats earned a spot in the championship game by defeated the Founders. They fared better in a rematch with Team USA, but Doucette scored three touchdowns in his team’s 24-14 victory.
Doucette and Team USA scored on 14 of their 15 drives on Saturday.
Odell Beckham Jr.
The free-agent wide receiver had a one-handed touchdown grab that reminded fans of his most famous touchdown catch. The veteran NFL wide receiver made a couple plays that suggested his football days might not be behind him.
Beckham had another nice touchdown reception when he high pointed the football in the back of the end zone for a TD in the third game.
NFL receiver-needy teams might have been impressed by his performance.
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More: Odell Beckham Jr. says he’s seeking NFL comeback after Fanatics Flag Football Classic
Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith connection
The Hurts-Smith connection is in midseason form. Playing together on the Founders, Hurts hit Smith in stride for a long touchdown in the first half against the Wildcats.
Hurts and Smith were on the same page on multiple completions throughout the day, and Smith caught two touchdowns. He was one of few bright spots for the winless Founders team.
Wildcats improvements
The Wildcats strategically tried to drain the clock during the first half of their second game against Team USA. Burrow, Daniels and the Wildcats were tied the game 6-6 late in the first half, but Team USA scored a go-ahead touchdown late to go into halftime with a 12-6 lead.
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The Wildcats would eventually go down 24-14, but the game was a lot more competitive than the other contests.
Davante Adams and Daniels each scored a touchdown.
Tom Brady gives solid performance
Brady eluded pressure from a Team USA defender and threw a laser on fourth-and-goal to the back of the end zone to Stefon Diggs for a touchdown during his team’s first game of the day.
On the ensuing play, Brady found his old buddy Rob Gronkowski for a two-point conversion.
Unfortunately, Gronkowski tweaked his hamstring on the two-point conversion and didn’t return.
Brady finished 8-of-12 for 71 yards and two touchdowns in two games.
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Losers
Founders
The Founders ended the Fanatics Flag Football Classic winless. They were pummeled by Team USA and then got beat, 34-26 by their NFL peers, the Wildcats.
Wildcats, Founders defense vs. Team USA
NFL players had a difficult time snatching the flag from Team USA ball carriers. In flag football, it is illegal to grab and hold on shirts and shorts. NFL players were penalized multiple times as they attempted to slow down Team USA ball carriers as they tried to grab at flags.
The two defenses gave up a combined 106 points in three total games.
NFL players on Wildcats and Founders
All the NFL players on the field were humbled by Team USA’s flag football squad. The two NFL squads tried to get accustomed to flag football, but they looked overmatched by an experienced and elite group of flag footballers who are well trained at the game. The U.S. national team has won five straight world titles and they showed why on Saturday.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fanatics Flag Football Classic: Team USA wins, NFL players lose
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