Double Pass: a 5v5 flag football play
It looks like a screen: the outside receiver steps back and catches a quick lateral. The defense jumps it, and the receiver throws deep to the slot, who faked a hitch and kept running.
Opens the free play maker with Double Pass added, ready to edit and print on a wristband card.
How Double Pass works
- X steps back behind the QB's depth and catches the lateral.
- Y runs a stutter-go down the left side.
- Z runs a post, C sits 4 yards off the line.
The quarterback's read
- QB: throw the lateral flat or backward to X.
- X: look deep to Y immediately.
- If Y is covered, X throws to the post or runs.
Coaching points
- X must catch the lateral level with or behind the QB. A lateral that drifts forward becomes your one forward pass.
- Pick the receiver who can actually throw for X's role.
- Y's stutter sells the screen: stop, then burst.
When to call it
After you've thrown a few real screens to that side.
For youth teams
Advanced: experienced teens and adults. Two throws means two chances to go wrong.
Rules check
IFAF (5v5, 7v7 and beach)
The first throw is a backward pass; a pass that travels parallel to the line counts as backward (R 2-10-1). That makes the second throw the single legal forward pass. If the lateral goes even slightly forward, the second throw is illegal (R 7-3-2-c: 5 yards and loss of down).
NFL FLAG and other rulebooks
Legal as long as the lateral is behind the line and backward. NFL FLAG allows laterals only behind the line of scrimmage.
Rule numbers refer to the IFAF International Flag Football Rules 2023, the current edition. See the trick plays guide for the six rules that decide most plays.
Put Double Pass on a wristband
Add it to your playbook in the free play maker, change the routes to fit your team, and print numbered wristband cards and a coach's call sheet on regular paper.