Explanation of Peyton Manning Fumble on the 1-Yard-Line

For anybody who watched the Colts-Browns game and was confused by the call made just before halftime concerning Peyton Manning's fumble at the 1-yard-line: The rule states that, inside two minutes, if a player fumbles the football forward, only that player can recover the football for his team. If somebody else on that player's team recovers the fumble, it is that teams' ball where the ball was fumbled. Since it was fourth down, the ball returned to the 1-yard-line, which is where Manning fumbled it, and thus it was Cleveland's football. If There had been more than two minutes remaining in the half, the touchdown would have stood. If the ball had been fumbled backwards, anybody would have been allowed to recover it and advance it. But because there were less than two minutes remaining in the half, and the ball was fumbled forward, the ball returned to the spot where Manning originally fumbled. Since it was fourth down, the play was dead, resulting in Cleveland's football at the 1-yard-line.