Offensive Pass Interference on 4th Down

[refbuz]

Originally Posted by Simbio

His statement was that of the football fundamental "No penalty causes loss of ball."

"Loss of down" only means that A to loses the right to replay the down. They still need to make the line to gain after the penalty is administered. In your scenario, they did not make the line to gain after enforcement of the penalty, so A loses the ball on downs. It is not the foul itself that causes the turnover.

Here's a similar scenario that involves a penalty and LOD...

4th & 5 @ A30. A5 Runs for 10 yards and throws and Illegal Forward Pass @ 40.

After the enforcement of the penalty, A still makes the line to gain. It is 1st & 10 for A @ A35, not 2nd & 10. A doesn't lose an actual down in the series.