Carson Palmer set a goal for himself during the offseason. He wanted to complete 70 percent of his passes. Asked in training camp about the ambitious goal, Palmer even suggested he might aim for 75 percent.
The Cincinnati quarterback is actually a humble guy who was merely able to anticipate a trend before the season even started. Through the first three weeks, four quarterbacks are completing more than 70 percent of their passes, led by Tom Brady's staggering 79.5. Palmer is one of 18 quarterbacks completing at least 64 percent of their passes. To put things in perspective, the highest mark ever is 70.55, set by former Bengal Ken Anderson in 1982.
After a slow start in Week 1, scoring is up as well. The 213 touchdowns scored during the first three weeks of the season -- 135 through the air -- mark the third-highest total in NFL history, topped only by the 224 in 1999 and 218 in 2002. During the offseason, the competition committee feared scoring might dip below 40 combined points per game, but the 42.8 average so far is roughly 1.5 points better than 2006.
Have the quarterbacks gotten that much better or has something else changed? Perhaps we are seeing a perfect storm of officiating and strategy that could lead to several passing records falling this season.
Holding calls are significantly down. Only 54 holding penalties have been called in 48 games, an average of 1.125 per game. Holding calls have actually been dropping dramatically over the past three seasons, from 2.4 per game in 2005 to 1.55 in 2006.
Remarkably, eight teams have yet to be penalized for holding: Carolina, Cleveland, Green Bay, the New York Jets, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and Tennessee.
Watching tape of the Packers-Chargers game from last week was fascinating. Brett Favre had no running game and was throwing out of the shotgun, but still faced very little pressure. Keep in mind, the Chargers entered the season with one of the most feared pass rushes in football.
Favre worked his passing game to perfection, and the Packers' offensive line contained the Chargers' rush without drawing a single holding penalty.
The hope here is the frequency of holding calls will remain low throughout the season. Holding can be called on every play, but given the choice, fans would rather watch a completion than a referee walking 10 yards to assess a penalty. The league doesn't want the game to become overly officiated, so penalties have been dropping in past years.
But passers aren't only thriving because umpires are keeping flags in their pockets. More teams are using three- and five-step drops, and spreading the field with three and four receivers to work quick passing attacks. In addition, more teams are using zone-blocking schemes and finding backs who make one cut and go. Finally, more quarterbacks are spreading the field and getting rid of the ball quickly.
Of course, completion percentages will likely drop as the temperature begins to fall, but there are enough good quarterbacks capable of performing in bad weather to put Anderson's record in jeopardy.
Given the current circumstances, Brady could certainly top Anderson's mark. Twice in his career, Peyton Manning completed better than 67 percent of his passes. Palmer completed 67.8 percent of his passes in 2005, and his number could shoot up in the second half of the season when he has Chris Henry back as a third receiver.
Philip Rivers is completing 70.1 percent of his passes in an offense that is actually off to a terrible start. And then there's Matt Schaub, who makes quick decisions and gets rid of the ball as pressure builds. He is completing 75.9 percent of his passes, despite the absence of wide receivers Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones due to injury.
The best part is all these completions are translating into points. People are still talking about the incredible Bengals-Browns shootout in Week 2, as well as the Eagles putting up 56 points last week against the Lions.
Most fans prefer offensive football, and 2007 has the potential to go down as a great offensive season.
John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.