Flag Football Plays – Scroll Down to Select Based on Formation

Most of the flag football plays here are drawn up in accordance with NFL Flag rules (no pitching or laterals, no passes behind the line of scrimmage).

The plays are divided and grouped based on formation. Having a few plays with the same formation that attack different parts of the field can improve your offense as your players will be more familiar with where to line up and the defense won’t know what is coming. Many coaches will run a few short pass plays out of a formation, then try to catch the defense looking for a short play and hit them deep.

Receiver Spots

Below is the terminology I use to describe where a receiver should line up.

  • Wide – Receiver lines up within 5 yards of the sideline
  • Slot – Receiver lines up halfway between the sideline and the center
  • Tight – Receiver lines up within a few yards of the center
Flag Football Plays - Receiver Spots Terminology

Flag Football Plays – Formations

Flag Football Plays - Twins Formation

Twins – Formation with 2 receivers on one side of the field. The other receiver can line up on the other side of the field or in the backfield as a running back. The Twins formation is ideal for flag football plays where the two Twins receivers work with each other to create openings in the defense. Some route examples are having one receiver run a deeper route while the other runs one underneath. Also, the two receivers can both run routes to occupy the defense on their side of the field while the 3rd receiver runs routes across the field into open areas created by the Twins’ receivers routes.


Flag Football Plays - Trips Formation

Trips – Formation with all three receivers on the same side of the field. While this formation can create limited space, it’s primarily used to overload one side of the defense. If the defense fails to adjust by sliding players over to the Trips side, the number of offensive players will outnumber the defensive players leaving one receiver always open. Similar to the Twins formation, there are several route options that result in one receiver being open underneath for a quick pass and run. These underneath routes can be run both toward the sideline and toward the middle of the field. At younger ages, this formation may open up the opposite side of the field for one of the receivers to take a handoff.

Flag Football Plays - Tight Formation

Tight – This formation is a balanced formation where a receiver lines up tight to each side of the center. The other receiver lines up in the backfield as a running back. If the quarterback is in the shotgun, the running back lines up right next to the quarterback. Many defenses are set up to cover the edges of the field as offenses tend to avoid the middle of the field (more so at younger ages).


Balanced Slot – A balanced formation where the offense lines up with a slot receiver on each side and a running back. Usually, the QB will line up under center with the RB directly behind him. However, you may line up with the QB in shotgun with the RB lined up next to the QB or with the RB a few yards behind the QB in a pistol set.