By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals game Sunday against Kansas City at Paul Brown Stadium could possibly sell out in time to lift the local television blackout.

"Sales are good," team spokesman Jack Brennan said Tuesday. "If they continue at this good pace, we anticipate we will sell out."

If the game is sold out by 1 p.m. Thursday, it will be aired live on Channel 12 (WKRC-TV) and Channel 7 (WHIO-TV).

The Chiefs are the NFL's top team this season and the last undefeated squad at 9-0. The Bengals' victory Sunday against Houston, coupled with Baltimore's loss, moved the Bengals one game behind the first-place Ravens in the AFC North.

The Bengals are 4-5 overall, but are 3-2 at home with a three-game home win streak.

A sellout would be the third for the Bengals at home this season. The opener against Denver and Game 3 against the Steelers also were sellouts.

A sellout against Kansas City would be the 11th in 30 Bengals home games at the 4-year-old stadium. There were two sellouts in 2000 and 2002 and four in 2001.

The crowd of 50,437 for the Texans game was the season low.

The Bengals have two home games remaining after Sunday's - Dec. 14 against San Francisco and Dec. 28 against Cleveland. The Browns game is a probable sellout; the matchup has sold out in each of the previous three seasons at Paul Brown Stadium.

First-year head coach Marvin Lewis has appealed to fans to sell out the stadium and provide the team with a genuine home-field advantage.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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