There are a lot of reasons

One of them is simply because the whole "play" (tactics for that particular "phase") just don't take it into account. There are very few AF tactics where the 10 non-ball carriers are planned to be in your vicinity, but behind you - normally they are meant to be ahead of you and blocking (illegal in rugby of course).

Secondly, it's very risky. Possession of the ball is far more important in AF than in rugby as turnovers are more rare. In AF, an "incomplete" forward pass is just dead - you move on to the next play - but a lateral or backward pass is "live" - the other team can gain possession and potentially advance it for a TD. There is no such thing as a knock-on in AF.

And finally cos they just are not used to it, or expecting it.

There are exceptions. Plays like the above you see about once a year or two years. But there are also tactics which incorporate lateral passes by design. One is the seldom seen "Hook-and-ladder" play, and the other is an extremely popular system in NCAA (college football), High School and semi-pro leagues such as ours in Europe, which is known as the "option" (I love option offenses but you don't see them in the NFL):

Hook and ladder:

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Option (strangely being run in Canadian Football):

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Posted By: Steve in Holland, Sep 6, 12:36:32