Short Yardage Flag Football Plays 6 plays with diagrams
When you need 5 yards or fewer, call a play where the ball is out fast and the catch or handoff happens near the line of scrimmage. These are the plays in our playbook whose own notes name short yardage or a gain of 5 yards or less.
Quick list: Double Back Dive (5v5), Mesh (5v5), Shallow Cross (5v5), Spacing (5v5), Stack Go-Out (5v5), Counter (7v7).
Double Back Dive (5 on 5)
When to call it: On short yardage outside the no-run zones, and as a first play for teams that are new to handoffs.
A simple short-yardage run for young teams. The QB hands the ball to the left back, who crosses behind the QB and runs just to the right of the center. The right back runs to the flat as a decoy, and the receiver runs deep to clear space.
Mesh (5 on 5)
When to call it: Against man-to-man coverage, and on third down when you need 5 yards.
X crosses near 4 yards and Y crosses the other way near 6 yards, while the center settles at 7 yards. The separated crossing routes test man coverage without permitting blocking or intentional contact.
Shallow Cross (5 on 5)
When to call it: Call it against man coverage when defenders are trailing your receivers, or against a single short middle defender who can only cover one level. The quick shallow also makes it a good short-yardage call.
X runs a 2-yard shallow cross to the right while Y runs a 9-yard dig above it in the same direction, putting a high-low on the middle defender. Z runs deep on the right to clear that side, and C sits at 5 yards on the left as the safe check-down.
Spacing (5 on 5)
When to call it: Against zone defenses that sit back and guard areas. It is a good call on any down when you need 4 or 5 yards and want a quick, safe throw.
X clears deep on the left while three receivers fill short spots from the middle to the right: H in the right flat about 1 to 2 yards deep, Z on a 5-yard hitch near the right sideline, and C sitting in the middle at 5 yards, just right of the ball. Each short receiver stops in an open gap between zone defenders, so the QB only needs a quick throw to whoever is uncovered.
Stack Go-Out (5 on 5)
When to call it: Against man-to-man, and when you need a sure 4 yards near the sideline.
Two receivers line up one behind the other. The front receiver runs deep, and the back receiver breaks to the sideline at 4 yards underneath. Defenders playing the stack cannot tell who goes where until the ball is almost out.
Counter (7 on 7)
When to call it: When the defense is flowing hard to stop your outside runs, and on short-yardage downs.
R takes one step to the right, then turns back and gets the handoff going left while H fakes a sweep to the right. Defenders chase the fake for a step, and R runs through the gap between Y and C. It is a run that uses the defense's speed against it.
Coaching the short yardage call
- Pick the throw your quarterback completes most often in practice, not the one with the most routes.
- Tell the receiver where the line to gain is before the snap. A catch one yard short is the usual way a short-yardage call fails.
- A run is only a short-yardage call outside the no-run zones. Inside one the play has to be a pass.
Plays for other situations
- Long Yardage Flag Football Plays (4)
- Third Down Flag Football Plays (3)
- Red Zone Flag Football Plays (3)
- Plays against zone defense and plays against man-to-man
Put your situation calls on one card: print them as a wristband playbook.