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Not even the return of Carson Palmer holds much value this weekend with a Cincinnati Bengals squad fresh off a two-game winning streak hosting an a 3-7 Oakland Raiders squad at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. Maybe it's because millions of Americans are returning home after a feast-filled holiday.
On Monday the team announced that "plenty of tickets" remained for Sunday's post-Thanksgiving game against the Oakland Raiders. A variety of reports have promoted that thousands of tickets remain while others claimed less than a thousand are available. All we know is that the game remains a non-sellout and that for the game to be on television, it must be sold out. We like to keep it simple.
Per league rules teams have until 72 hours prior to kickoff to either declare a sellout or request an extension through the league office. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the team isn't required to do so and expects to make an announcement one way or the other on Friday.
Maybe the NFL should just lift the blackout throughout the NFL this weekend. You know. The season for giving thanks.