re: fumbles on 4th down.

quote:

---

Caught or Recovered
ARTICLE 2. a. When a backward pass or fumble is caught or recovered by any inbounds player, the ball continues in play.

Exceptions:
1. Rule 8-3-2-d-5 (Team A fumble on the try).
2. On fourth down before a change of team possession, when a Team A fumble is caught or recovered by a Team A player other than the fumbler, the ball is dead. If the catch or recovery is beyond the spot of the fumble, the ball is returned to the spot of the fumble. If the catch or recovery is behind the spot of the fumble, the ball remains at the spot of the catch or recovery.
b. When a backward pass or fumble is caught or recovered simultaneously by opposing players, the ball becomes dead and belongs to the team last in possession (Exception: Rule 7-2-2-a Exceptions).

---

That's the entire rule in question. It seems to me that the rules clearly mention both a fumble and backward pass as 2 separate conditions. If the rule about not advancing a fumble on 4th down was meant to include backward passes, it would have said "backward pass or fumble".

Also, the rules never define an incomplete backwards pass as a fumble, it becomes a loose ball.