Honest Question: Is the U.S. Flag Football Quarterback Better Than Patrick Mahomes?

By Clayton Kilgore

Flag football is coming to the Olympics, y’all.

In case you weren’t aware (I wasn’t), the United States of America has a flag football team and they’ll finally be able to compete at the highest level in Los Angeles in 2028. 

Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I have no idea how flag football really works at that level. I didn’t know it existed in this capacity until as recently as a week ago when this guy started to make headlines.

The man you see above is the quarterback for the US Flag Football team, a guy named Darrell “Housh” Doucette.

He’s 5’7” and weighs 140 pounds. He’s understandably miffed at the prospect of NFL players waltzing into his world and infringing on his job when 2028 rolls around.

He even went as far as to say that he’s currently better than Patrick Mahomes at flag football.

"At the end of the day, I feel like I'm better than Patrick Mahomes because of my IQ of the game."

-US Flag football QB Darrell Doucette

pic.twitter.com/G2gKTWHctj

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 21, 2024

This might seem like an insanely bold claim, but I’m not so sure. 

This isn’t just normal flag football, it’s the best of the best.

Soon-to-be Olympic athletes.

I’ll safely assume that professional flag football is more intense and calculated than the version I played on the intramural fields a few years back, and that these folks are at least slightly better at it than I was.

The more I think about it, Darrell Doucette may just be onto something here.

There’s far less risk of injury and exactly zero contact is allowed outside of yankin’ flags. That’s how it’s possible for a 5’7” 140 pound individual to exist within the context of this league in the first place.

Doucette’s been doing this for a long time and he knows the intricacies. Plus, he’s teeny-tiny and that makes it harder to pull his flag. Who says he isn’t the baddest man to step onto a flag football field?  

Whether or not this is the case, Darrell Doucette can say whatever he wants because he’s walked the walk. Patrick Mahomes has never played high-level flag football and probably never will because he’s an NFL player. 

It’s the perfect ruse! He’s generating buzz around the sport, people know who he is now, and it’s as open-ended a statement as anyone could ever make. It’s one hell of a bold claim that will likely never be debunked. 

I kinda love this move and I respect his self-confidence. I hope he brings home a gold medal in 2028. While we’re here, tell me this isn’t a nasty ballfake and drop in the basket by “Housh”.

#TeamHoush.

https://www.nfl.com/videos/darrell-doucette-delivers-42-yard-bomb-on-the-run-to-bruce-mapp