Tom Brady started out like the GOAT of flag football before Team USA dominated the day.
Brady fired a perfect touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs in the corner of the end zone on his first play in a competitive football game in more than 1,000 days.
The 48-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl champion even showed unusual elusive skills by evading a sack on a free rush, stepped up and delivered a strike for the TD after replacing Jalen Hurts on fourth-and-goal
on the opening drive of the game.
Brady followed up with another beautiful pass to his longtime buddy and former teammate Rob Gronkowski for the 2-point conversion, giving his team an 8-0 lead over the USA squad in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic.
It was all downhill from there as Gronk went down with a hamstring injury, and Brady and his team of current and former NFL players coached by Sean Payton couldn’t keep up.
Team USA crushed Brady’s Founders FFC 43-16 after dismantling Joe Burrow’s Wildcats FFC squad 39-16. Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Saquon Barkley and the Wildcats then eliminated Brady, Hurts and the Founders from the round-robin tournament with a 34-26 victory.
The Founders kept it closer in the championship game but Team USA pulled away 24-14. The national team couldn’t be stopped on offense in three games, scoring on every possession except a kneel-down at the end of one victory.
“My heart is really hurting right now,” Brady said between losses.
Playing with a familiar scowl and intensity that helped him become the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Brady had a few other highlights despite his team’s dismal performance.
He called his own version of the “Philly Special” and tossed a TD pass to Hurts against the national team.
It was clear NFL players and coaches were learning the game and the rules on the fly after holding just a couple practices before the 5-on-5 tournament.
They nearly had more penalties called against them than flags pulled. Team USA’s mastery of the sport, sophistication on offense and overall speed overwhelmed a group of players who barely practiced together.
Brady was penalized for tossing one of his flags to the ground because he couldn’t quickly insert it into place before taking a snap during a hurry-up situation.
Payton was angry an official told him it was third down on the sideline and then switched to fourth down before the snap.
With flag football set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Games, many NFL players have already said they would like an opportunity to play for gold.
Darrell “Housh” Doucette III, Nico Casares and the USA squad aren’t about to give up their spots. Nor should they have to. They proved they’re the kings of flag football.
The event was originally scheduled to take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but was relocated to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles because of the Iran war.
Brady’s team also included Ashton Jeanty, Alvin Kamara, Antoine Winfield Jr., DeVonta Smith, Von Miller, Damar Hamlin, Patrick Peterson and boxer Terence Crawford.
Burrow’s team coached by Kyle Shanahan included Kyle Juszczyk, Odell Beckham Jr., Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, Derwin James Jr., Luke Kuechly, Jalen Ramsey, entertainer and boxer Logan Paul and YouTuber IShowSpeed.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
