I sent the play situation below to Steve Shaw and received a reply. In his reply, he concurs with the ruling that I presented. Bottom line:
After the ball has been beyond the neutral zone, either in possession or loose, a forward pass is no longer allowed anytime thereafter by any player, anywhere on the field.
The rule and AR's didn't address the possibility of a ball, loose from a fumble or backward pass, traveling across the NZ, and then rebounding or getting muffed back in/behind the NZ, where it might then be recovered and then passed forward. Now we know, positively, such a pass is illegal.
Shaw indicated he would add an AR to cover this in the future.
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1/10, A-40, 7:00 (1), clock running, Team A = 7, Team = 14.
A12 receives the snap, moves to his left, and, while adjusting the ball in his throwing hand to make a pass, loses control of the ball, and fumbles it at the A-37. The ball is rolling on the ground at the A-41 when it rebounds, or is muffed, and returns behind the neutral zone. A12 (or any team A player) recovers the ball at the A-38, moves to his right and passes the ball from the A-38 to A88 at the A-45, where A88 is tackled, with the ball becoming dead there.
Ruling: A, 2/17, A-33, ready (25).
A12 / the Team A passer commits a foul for making a forward pass after the loose ball has been beyond the neutral zone. The 5-yard penalty is enforced from the spot of the foul, and includes a loss of down. The play clock is set to 25 seconds, and the play clock and game clock start on the referee’s signal.
