forward pass vs passing play

forward pass and passing play both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
forward pass	Yes	No	No	No
passing play	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, passing play is a hypernym of forward pass; that is, passing play is a word with a broader meaning than forward pass:

forward pass: a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer
passing play: (American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate

Other hypernyms of forward pass include pass, passing, passing game.

forward pass (noun)	passing play (noun)
a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer	(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate