We figured the Buffalo Bills would be in trouble when, upon their schedule being made publicly available in May, it was revealed that the team had three home games in December. The first of those games comes this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and according to team CEO Russ Brandon, that game will be blacked out on local television.
Brandon also told WGR 550 earlier this morning that a home game against the St. Louis Rams (December 9) and the regular season finale against the New York Jets (December 30) are highly unlikely to sell out, as well. That means that Bills fans in Western New York will almost certainly only be able to watch two more games on television this season: a December 16 "home" game in Toronto against the Seattle Seahawks, and a road game the following week against the Miami Dolphins.
The Bills have sold out just 58 percent of their home games since 1990, according to Brandon. (We'd be curious to know what the percentage was since their last playoff appearance in 1999; something tells us it's a bit lower.) The team struggles to sell out home games in December regardless of the on-field product, but it's hard to imagine that there would have been 15,000 tickets remaining for the Jaguars had the Bills been able to handle business against Indianapolis last weekend.
The 4-7 Bills host the 2-9 Jaguars - coached by former Buffalo head man Mike Mularkey - at 1:00 PM on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.