What are the best red zone plays in 5v5 flag football?
Run Smash. One receiver hitches at five yards and another runs a corner over the top of him, so the defender covering that side has to choose between a route in front of him and a route behind him with no room to retreat. Red zone defense in 5v5 flag football is hard because the field is short, and Smash turns that compression into the reason it works rather than an obstacle.
Six red zone plays, and what each one solves
- Play 1
Smash
The staple. A hitch under a corner route, on the same side.
The outside receiver hitches at five while the inside receiver runs a corner behind him. One defender has to choose, and whichever he takes, the other is open. This is the first red zone concept to install because it works against man and zone without changing a thing.
- Play 2
Double Flat
Width. Two flats stretch a defense with nowhere to retreat.
Both outside receivers break flat toward the sidelines and Y slants underneath. A compressed defense cannot cover the full width of the field this close to the goal line, so somebody is uncovered before the ball is out.
- Play 3
Bunch Rub
Traffic. Defenders collide before anybody has to win.
From a bunch, Y slants inside at three while Z climbs to a corner and X runs to the flat. Three receivers leaving one cluster in three directions forces defenders through each other. Nobody has to beat his man; the formation does it.
- Play 4
High-Low
Pick your poison. One deep, one short, same defender.
Z runs a corner at nine and Y breaks out at three underneath him. The quarterback reads one defender and throws away from him. It is the same idea as Smash from a trips look, which matters because most defenses adjust to the formation, not the concept.
- Play 5
Fade
For a defender with no room to turn and run.
X runs straight at the back of the end zone. Close to the goal line a defender cannot open his hips and recover, so a throw placed high and outside is either caught or incomplete. Call it when you have one receiver taller than whoever is on him.
- Play 6
All Comebacks
Uses the goal line itself as an extra defender.
Both outside receivers push to seven and break back toward the ball. Defenders backpedalling to protect the end zone are moving the wrong way when the receiver turns around. It is the most reliable throw on this list against a defense that refuses to let anything behind it.
Why it works
A short field removes the safety net
Deep coverage has nowhere to sit once you are inside the twenty. Defenders who normally play with depth behind them are suddenly defending a line, and a two-level concept is what exposes that.
The hitch is the throw, the corner is the reason
Coaches call this expecting the corner and get frustrated when it is covered. Most of the time the hitch is open early because the defender is worried about the route behind it.
It scores from anywhere inside fifteen
The corner breaks toward the pylon and the hitch converts on fourth and short. One call covers both situations, which matters when you have a twelve-play playbook.
How to run it
- 1
Set your spacing wide
Get the two receivers on the concept at least six yards apart. Bunched, the same defender can cover both, which is exactly what the play is trying to prevent.
- 2
Z hitches at five
Five yards, stop, turn back to the quarterback and show his hands. He does not drift; if he floats upfield he runs into his own corner route.
- 3
Y runs the corner over the top
Stem straight for six yards, then break at forty-five degrees toward the front pylon. The break has to happen behind the hitch, not level with it.
- 4
Read the defender in between
If he sinks toward the corner, throw the hitch. If he jumps the hitch, throw the corner. One defender, two answers.
- 5
Take the points
The hitch at five is a completion. Coaches lose red zone downs hunting for the corner when the easy throw was there on every snap.
Adjustments
Inside the five
Cut everything in half. Hitch at two, corner at four. There is not enough field left for the full-depth version and the timing breaks down if you try.
On the goal line specifically
Replace the corner with a flat route across the back of the end zone. A ball thrown to the pylon from the three has almost no room to land.
If they double the corner
Doubling one route in a five-player defense means somebody else is completely uncovered. Check to the backside fade and take the one-on-one.
For younger teams
Run both receivers on hitches at different depths. Same high-low idea, no break to time, and a seven-year-old can execute it.
When not to call it
Outside the twenty
With real field behind them, defenders can play deep and take away the corner without giving up the hitch. This concept needs a compressed field to create the bind.
Into a strong sideline wind
The corner route is the longest air-distance throw on the play and it is thrown toward the sideline. In wind it becomes a jump ball you did not intend to call.
Build your red zone package
Diagram Smash, tag it as a red zone call, and keep it separate from your base offense.
Open the designerRelated questions
How many red zone plays should a flag football team have?
Why is the red zone harder in flag football?
What is a high-low read?
Should you run the ball in the red zone in flag football?
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Coach Ray Carroll
Twelve seasons coaching youth and rec flag football, and the builder of RC Football. Every play on this site has been run by a real team on a real Saturday.