Is it legal to throw the ball backwards out of bounds?

i was watching iowa vs wisconsin and on the last play the guy was trying to get out of bounds but got tackled before he could. It reminded me of the browns steelers playoff game in 2003 where the player didnt get out of bounds and time expired. So it got me thinking. can these players just lateral it backwards out of bounds? or at least fake a fumble out of bounds? is that legal? if it is i dont see why no one utilizes it.