Watching NFL yesterday and a play occured in the Denver - San Diego game. Denver on about SD's 2, the runner fumbles, the ball, in the air, bounces off of a couple of SD players hands and is caught in the air in the EZ by a Denver player. The ball never touched the ground. I thought of 2 things. The ruling was that the forward fumble could only be recovered by the player who fumbled.

1) I don't believe this rule exists for HS, at least I couldn't find it. We had a play this weekend where the runner fumbled at the 2 the ball was recovered by A's lineman and we ruled a TD. Was this the right call for HS?

2) In the NFL game what if the runner was behind the LOS, the ball comes out, in the air, and is caught by an eligible receiver would this be a legal forward pass?

This is the NFL rule that was put in because of the Oakland
Raiders fumble in a playoff game. They fumbled forward for
about 10 yards and it looked like it was on purpose.

1) You got it right, no such rule in NF rules.

2) I'm not sure of the correct ruling in the NFL. I think it would depend on a lot of things... eligible receiver, lineman not downfield... and so on.

NFL Rules:
Accidentally fumbling the ball forward is not a pass. If the ball is INTENTIONALLY fumbled forward, it is a forward pass and forward pass rules must be followed.

The ruling for #2 also applies to NFHS rules, which define passing as an intentional act.

Great, thanks. I knew I'd get the answer here.