safety or touchdown

[cdoug]

Originally Posted by mbyron

A kick that is jointly possessed belongs to R (6-1-5, 6-2-7), but your situation describes a muffed snap and not a kick. So a joint recovery belongs to K. The result of your play is a safety (7-4-3c).

My initial reaction was that you're right, and I still think that, but am having an issue with the wording of the rule. So, if someone can help me wrap my head around this I'd appreciate it.

7-4-3(c): ...The ball belongs to the passing or fumbling team unless lost after fourth down if a fumble or backward pass: (c) becomes dead inbounds while opponents are in joint possession.

The "after fourth down" part is what I think I'm having the issue with. This is not "after fourth down" because it's still part of the fourth down play?