Backward pass rules

The backward pass is any pass going back. Teams use it in the toss, pitch or simple passing. American football rules don’t limit the number of these passes during the play until it ends or the ball is called dead due to out-of-bounds or penalty.

Teams use backward passes to keep the ball alive at the end of the game. There are few of them during the three quarters. It may be a savior if the team needs a touchdown to win the game with a bit of time left to the end of the game. This time isn’t enough to go from the team’s half of the field to the opponent’s goal line with a tying field goal. Touchdown is the only way. That’s one reason for the lateral pass.

Any NFL or CFL player with the ball can legally perform the backward pass. The quarterback’s primary responsibility is to deliver it to the running back. If the addressee doesn’t catch the ball and touches the ground in the field bounds, it remains live. Any eligible player can recover the ball. If the opponents take the ball, it’s a fumble. The snap is the backward pass too. That differs the back pass from forward. It can happen only once. The incomplete forward pass leads to the dead ball.

NCAA has the same backward pass rules except for one significant difference. The statistician determines who is more at fault during the fumble – the passer or the player who didn’t get possession of the ball. A passer gets the fumble credit in the professional leagues.