Jake's Take: 3 and Out: What I Learned: Week 9

Here are 3 things I learned after watching Week 9 of the NFL season...

1. The Bengals may be for real. Cincinnati handled the Baltimore Ravens Sunday, sweeping the season series. Cincy's D held Ravens QB Joe Flacco to under 200 yards passing and RB Ray Rice to under 50 yards rushing. Carson Palmer and the Bengals offense put up 150 more total yards than their opponents. The Bengals now are tied for the lead in the AFC North with Pittsburgh but have an edge after already beating the Steelers earlier this year.

2. I was wrong about the CHARGERS. I know, I know. I cannot possibly be a real Bolts fan if I predicted them to lose to the Giants last week. Well, I was flat out wrong.... and I am very happy about it. SAN DIEGO still couldn't run the ball, but the $92 million right arm of Philip Rivers was enough to lead a late comeback, the 11th of his career. The defense continued its resurgent play as the defense collected 5 more sacks. The AFC West race got much closer in just 2 weeks. With the Bolts winning their last 3 games and the Broncos coming back to earth and losing 2 straight, Denver's division lead is now at only 1 game with 8 left to play.

3. Houston is close to becoming a threat in the AFC. The Texans and Colts put up almost identical offensive numbers on Sunday:

Total Yards: IND=378 HOU=382
Passing Yards: Manning= 318 Schaub=311
Rushing Yards: IND= 72 HOU=81

True, the Colts had better numbers in the only stat that mattered... points, but still the Texans are an improving team. If not for a last second 42-yard field goal choke by kicker Kris Brown, the Texans may have been just a coin toss away from being 6-3 and handing the Colts their first lost of the season. Houston has a strong offense and a much better defense than in years past. Keep an eye out for the "other" team from Texas.

Wishful Uni of the Week: For some reason the CHARGERS don't realize that if you have a white jersey and you have white pants, that you can wear them at the same time. Same thing with the dark blue jersey and pants. The Bolts have never busted these unis out yet, but if they do they will be tough to beat... Come on, tell me these don't look good...