As a result of the efforts of players like Bernard and Sanu, 67 percent of Dalton’s passing yards this season have come after the catch. That is the second-highest percentage in the league behind that of Minnesota’s Matt Cassel. While it is easy to be impressed by Dalton’s gaudy numbers, it is fair to wonder how much of the credit belongs to Dalton and how much belongs to his talented teammates.

By another measure, no quarterback is relying on yards after the catch more than Houston’s Ryan Fitzpatrick. Through two games, his average pass has traveled just 6.3 yards, the shortest distance of any quarterback in the league. That conservative style has worked well for the Texans and the quarterback, as Fitzpatrick has the second-best passer rating in the N.F.L. behind Peyton Manning. By sticking to short passes, the Houston signal caller has managed to join Dalton as the only quarterbacks this season who have yet to throw an interception or be sacked.

The Texans have two of the top receivers in the N.F.L., with the All-Pro selection Andre Johnson joined by the second-year rising star DeAndre Hopkins. For Fitzpatrick, his main job is to get the ball to those players as quickly as possible, which leads to a lot of short throws. It also leads to high completion percentages and significant yards after the catch. Johnson has caught 75 percent of his targets, and averaged 6.7 yards before the catch and 7.3 yards after the catch. Hopkins has converted 70 percent of his targets into receptions, averaging 8.4 yards before and 7.4 after the catch. Fitzpatrick, now on his fifth team, has always been at his best in the short passing game. That makes the Houston system a great fit, and it has led to one of the league’s most efficient passing offenses through two weeks.

The low-risk passing game has worked so far for Houston and Cincinnati, but those are not the only teams employing that style. On Monday night, Philadelphia’s Nick Foles struggled to complete throws downfield, but still managed to throw for 331 yards. How did he do that? Only 98 of those yards came through the air, with 233 coming after the catch. Running back Darren Sproles, who caught all seven of his targets, was responsible for 152 of Foles’s yards, with 147 coming after the catch.

The short-passing game can help quarterbacks avoid sacks and interceptions, while also providing a relatively safe alternative to the running game. At all levels of football, there is a chess match between offensive and defensive coaches. As N.F.L. offenses field more tight ends and running backs who double as receivers, defenses are forced to counter by taking run defenders off the field and replacing them with players who specialize in pass coverage.