The Bengals expect their franchise-record streak of 57 straight sellouts at Paul Brown Stadium to end at the Nov. 21 game against the winless Bills.
"There is a meaningful number of tickets left for the Buffalo game. As a result, we don't expect the game being sold out," said ticket sales manager Andrew Brown.
Calling it the end of an era, Brown said the pace has slowed considerably with the Dec. 5 game against Super Bowl-champion New Orleans having the best shot of selling out and sales lagging for the remaining Dec. 19 Cleveland game and the Dec. 26 San Diego game that is scheduled for a Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. on NBC.
The streak began and ended in memorable fashion. On Nov. 16, 2003, the Bengals knocked off the 9-0 Chiefs, 24-19, and moved into a share of the AFC North lead on the fourth-quarter lightning of Peter Warrick touchdowns on a 68-yard punt return and a 77-yard pass from Jon Kitna.
It also ended in the fourth quarter Monday night when quarterback Carson Palmer's furious bid for 21 unanswered points and a 28-27 victory ended at the Steelers 12 with 34 seconds left and dropped the Bengals to 2-6.
Brown is hopeful the game against the Saints can sell out because the package that included the champs, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Tampa Bay, moved well earlier in the season.
