The Big Lead

U.S. Flag Football Star Makes Bold Claim About Patrick Mahomes

By Joe Lago

Aug 17, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates toward fans against the Detroit Lions prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates toward fans against the Detroit Lions prior to a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitter

Team USA's incredible gold medal haul at the Paris Olympics sparked enthusiasm for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and caught up in the euphoria and patriotism were NFL players, who are now dreaming of representing the United States in flag football, one of the LA28's new sports.

Not mentioned amid all the talk of NFL players becoming Olympians is the group of flag footballers already playing and thriving for the USA. The U.S. flag football team has won four consecutive world titles and will pursue a five-peat next week at the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Finland.

One player who isn't about to give up his spot is quarterback Darrell Doucette. Not even if Patrick Mahomes decides to pursue his Olympic dream.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, the 35-year-old Doucette said he doesn't see the upside of the Kansas City Chiefs' three-time Super Bowl MVP playing quarterback for the USA flag football team at the 2028 Summer Games.

"At the end of the day, I feel like I'm better than Patrick Mahomes because of my IQ of the game," Doucette said. "I know he's right now the best in the league. I knows he's more accurate. I know he has all these intangibles. But when it comes to flag football, I feel like I know more than him."

OK, time to focus. Doucette didn't say he was a better quarterback than Mahomes. He said he knows the flag football game better than the NFL superstar. And in that respect, Doucette is right because Olympic flag football in L.A. will be a different game than what's played in the NFL.

The field for the five-vs-five action is much shorter and narrower at 70 yards long and only 25 yards wide. Games are shorter with 20-minute halves. And there's the obvious difference with no contact allowed — tackles are made by pulling one of two flags attached to each side of the ball carrier.

Speed and deception (i.e. trick plays) are the hallmarks of flag football success. And there will be only 12 players on Olympic rosters, placing a priority on two-way players who can excel on offense and defense.

Could Mahomes, as a designated quarterback, learn the nuances of flag football? Of course, he could. However, Doucette believes he and the current USA players already know how to win at the international level. They already have the working knowledge of what it would take to win gold at the L.A. Games.

So why bother with NFL players?

“It’s not that we need these guys,” Doucette told The Guardian. “Because we’re already great with who we have.”

On Wednesday, Mahomes responded to Doucette's claim with a classic 50 Cent meme, which (in the clean version) wonders aloud why he's being insulted.