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The Bengals won for the first time in almost an exact calendar year, and barely anyone was there to see it in person.
During their 0-5 record at home to start this season, the Bengals have been averaging an attendance of about 46,000, or 71% of Paul Brown Stadium’s total capacity, per ESPN. That percentage dropped to about 69% after today’s game vs. the Jets.
The Bengals announced an official attendance of just 34,568, which is the smallest announced attendance the Bengals have had in 24 years. It is also the smallest since they began playing in Paul Brown Stadium.
Smallest announced attendance since Christmas Eve 1995. That game had 34,568 spectators.
— Tyler Dragon (@TheTylerDragon) December 1, 2019
After last week’s abysmal performance vs. the Steelers, Bengals fans clearly have sent a message towards owner Mike Brown and the rest of the organization. Of course, the Steelers usually account for a decent amount of opposing fans towards the total attendance and they didn’t get that boost this week. Even adding Andy Dalton back into the starting lineup wasn’t enough for attendance to see a quick uptick.
The Bengals return to Paul Brown Stadium in two weeks to face the New England Patriots, who will surely draw more opposing fans the the Jets did this week. Maybe with a win finally next to their name, more fans will come out for the final two home games, though it’ll still be hard for them to climb out of 32nd place in attendance rankings this year.