Another blackout: No TV for Bengals, Cards

CINCINNATI - The wounds apparently run deep for many Bengals fans.

Despite an 8-6 record and a potential playoff birth on the horizon, fans have not been buying tickets this season.

Saturday's Christmas Eve game against the Arizona Cardinals was declared a blackout on Tuesday, meaning the contest will not be shown in the local television markets.

This will be the sixth time in 2011 that a game at Paul Brown Stadium has not sold out. This is the 10th out of the last 11 home games not to sell out. The only game to sell out this season was the Nov. 13 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cincinnati remains at the bottom of the NFL when it comes to attendance. The team is averaging 48,216 fans per game at Paul Brown Stadium, according to ESPN.

The Bengals have already doubled last season's win total and gained ground in the playoff hunt this past weekend when all the teams they needed to lose went down. If the playoffs started today, the Bengals would not be in. However, their last two regular season games are at home. The Bengals end the regular season against the Baltimore Ravens on New Year's Day at 1 p.m.

The Jets, currently the sixth seed in the AFC playoff standings, play the New York Giants this week before traveling to Miami to end the regular season.

Other teams Bengals fans should pay attention to are the 8-6 Broncos, and the Titans, Raiders, Broncos, and Chargers, all of which currently sit at 7-7. The fifth seed in the AFC playoffs will go to either the Ravens or the Steelers.

Saturday's game against the 7-7 Cardinals, who have won four straight, kicks off at 1 p.m.