Help me think through this one.

[ump33]

Originally Posted by WestCoaster

Also, you say that B is responsible for forcing the ball into his own end zone. This is not correct. The momentum exception implies that the forward pass was the force that put the ball into the end zone. Had he been tackled in the end zone and not fumbled, the ball would be B's at the 3 yard line, and the penalty enforced from there, not a safety.

Respectfully disagree ... The pass is not the force that put the ball in the EZ. When B caught the pass on the 3 yd line, the pass ends and B's "run" begins. So yes, B is responsible for forcing/taking the ball into his own EZ. Now, as long as the ball becomes dead in B's EZ and B still has Team Position, the momentum exception allows the ball to be placed at the 3yd line (EOR).

The exception does not imply, it states:

EXCEPTION: When a defensive player intercepts an opponent’s forward pass; intercepts or recovers an opponent’s fumble or backward pass; or an R player catches or recovers a scrimmage kick or free kick between his 5-yard line and the goal line, and his original momentum carries him into the end zone where the ball is declared dead in his team’s possession or it goes out of bounds in the end zone, the ball belongs to the team in possession at the spot where the pass or fumble was intercepted or recovered or the kick was caught or recovered.

Intercepted, caught or recovered mean the player in question is in possession of a live ball and that makes him a runner who is responsible for where he goes.