In the opening Monday night game of the season, Tom Brady threw 25 consecutive passes. Just like that, the race was on.
The NFL's arms race.
Since that eye-opening night in which the New England Patriots destroyed the Pittsburgh Steelers with a prolific passing game, NFL quarterbacks have been throwing the ball at a wearying pace.
Through nine weeks of the season, pass attempts are up by nearly 600 throws over the same point last year. Net passing yards are up by 3,726 yards over last year.
Perhaps not surprisingly, teams are scoring at an all-time high, too.
"We're seeing what the league and fans really like - wide-open football, a lot of scoring," said Carl Peterson, president of the Kansas City Chiefs. "For us purists, though, it is a heart attack waiting to happen every Sunday."
It's a veritable air raid every week. In the first half of the season, nine different quarterbacks have thrown at least 50 passes in a game a total of 12 times. Oakland's Rich Gannon has had games with 64 and 55 passes. Brady has had games of 54 and 53. Even Denver's Brian Griese has two 50-or-more passing games.
There have been four 400-plus-yard passing games already, including the top two by Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe.
There have been 300-plus passing games 41 times in nine weeks, compared to 31 a year ago.
What's going on here? Why does an NFL Sunday look strikingly like an Arena League Saturday night? And will it continue?
There are a handful of reasons for the trend that has, at least temporarily, altered offensive strategy.
Quarterbacks and wide receivers are better; cornerbacks aren't. The West Coast offense has, to an extent, replaced the run with the short pass. Defenses have opted to put eight men at the line of scrimmage to stop the run and sack the quarterback.
"I think there's been a maturation of quarterbacks," said Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' senior vice president of football operations. "I think people think their third and fourth receivers are better than the third and fourth defensive backs. And people are not stubborn in that they realize they can use the pass as a run ... that West Coast flavor."
An exotic pistachio flavor, at that. Four running backs, including the Chiefs' Priest Holmes, lead their team in receptions at the halfway point.
Ravens coach Brian Billick thinks defense dictates a lot of what's going on.
"I think it's cyclical, to a degree," he said. "As running games become pronounced and that becomes the way to win, teams' defenses focus on that and take away the run, so you've got to pass."
It is, in the end, a broad-based chess match of offense vs. defense. The proliferation of passes and increased touchdown count can be attributed to the following factors.
Rising quarterbacks
In the late 1990s, there was league-wide alarm about the retirement of several great quarterbacks - Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino, Steve Young and Troy Aikman. The void they left is slowly being filled by the next generation.
Green Bay's Brett Favre is still the league's best quarterback, but young talents like Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb, New Orleans' Aaron Brooks, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Brady have joined the elite group. McNabb, in his fourth season with the Eagles, has redefined the position with his unique blend of skills.
"He's done some pretty amazing things back there," Eagles coach Andy Reid says of McNabb. "I say that just looking at his stature. You're looking at a 240-pound man that's 6-3 and can move like that. That's something. There are times where I go, 'That was a pretty nice deal.' "
Copying the Rams
After the three-year reign of offensive terror by the St. Louis Rams, other teams have embraced their spread offense with empty backfields and multiple-receiver formations. The Bills dumped their version of the West Coast attack to go vertical with Bledsoe. The Chiefs, under former Rams coach Dick Vermeil, run the offense better than St. Louis right now. The Raiders, Patriots and Saints also spread the defense to great effect.
"Part of this is the St. Louis offense," Peterson said. "But you have to have five [linemen] who give the quarterback a chance. Then you have to have playmakers. A key is that our quarterback [Trent Green] is doing a terrific job of getting back quick, making good decisions and getting rid of the ball fast."
West Coast influence
Running backs play a major role in the passing game in this offense. Besides Holmes, other runners who lead their team in receptions are the New York Giants' Tiki Barber, Seattle's Shaun Alexander and the Rams' Marshall Faulk.
On 14 more teams, a running back is the second-leading receiver. That's a lot of dump-off passes.
Scarcity of corners
Most teams would like to upgrade their starting cornerbacks. Few have a threesome like the Eagles' Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor and Al Harris. That means the Eagles can match up better than most against the multiple-receiver sets. Teams that don't enjoy that luxury usually give up big plays because of the matchup problem.
"If you can get one of your good players against one of their lesser players, then you've got a chance to win," Newsome said.
Poor tackling
For whatever reason, tackling has been spotty this season. Perhaps it's the tendency of defenders to go for the spectacular hit rather than wrap up the runner.
"It's been the history of the NFL that once you leave training camp, no one practices tackling," Peterson said.
Super Bowl fallout
Stopping the run has become a priority. That's partly why teams are putting eight defenders in the box.
"Remember, the last two championships have been won playing defense and running the ball," Billick said, referring to the Ravens and Patriots. "So now that's what we have to stop."
Will the trend continue the rest of the season, with bad weather games and defensive adjustments a certainty?
"I don't know," Newsome said. "Still, the defense has the best athletes, so eventually, the athletes will catch up to the [offensive] schemes."
Half-season Numbers
Total points 5,703
On pace to be most all time
Points per game
43.9
Highest since 44.3 in 1967
Total touchdowns
655
On pace to be most all time
Touchdowns per game
5.04
Highest since 1987
Net passing yards per game
428.8
Highest since 1995