Dead Ball and Loose Ball
ARTICLE 3. Reviewable plays involving potential dead balls and loose balls include:
a. Loose ball by a potential passer ruled a fumble.
b. Loose ball by a passer ruled incomplete forward pass when there is clear recovery, or the ball goes out
of bounds in the immediate continuing action after the loose ball.
1. If the replay official does not have indisputable video evidence as to which team recovers, does not
have confirmation of the recovery by the officials on the field, or the ball going out of bounds, the
ruling of incomplete pass stands.
2. If the replay official rules fumble and the ball is recovered, the ball belongs to the recovering team
at the spot of the recovery and any advance is nullified.
c. Live ball not ruled dead in possession of a ball carrier.
d. Loose ball ruled dead (Rule 4-1-2-b-2), or live ball ruled dead in possession of a ball carrier, when the
clear recovery of a loose ball occurs in the immediate continuing football action.
1. If the ball is ruled dead and the replay official does not have: Indisputable video evidence as to which
team recovers; confirmation of the recovery by the officials on the field; or if the ball goes out of
bounds, the dead-ball ruling stands.
2. If the replay official rules that the ball was not dead, it belongs to the recovering team at the spot
of the recovery and any advance is nullified.
e. Ball carrier’s forward progress, spot of fumble, or spot of out-of-bounds backward pass, with respect
to a first down or the goal line.