Citing improving ticket sales since the opening of the NFL season Wednesday night, the Bengals said Friday they are within "striking distance" of selling out next week's Paul Brown Stadium opener against Cleveland.
Jeff Berding, the club's director of sales and public affairs, and Andrew Brown, ticket sales manager, said there are still "several thousand tickets" left but that they feel good about a sellout in time for the 1 p.m. game on Sept. 16 game against the Browns to be televised on Cincinnati's Channel 12 and other network affiliates in the region.
Brown said it was a similar situation for the 2009 and 2010 home openers, when a sellout was announced a few days before the game.
"We're certainly in better position than last year," Brown said of an opener that drew 43,363.
INJURY UPDATE: After the Bengals worked for 80 minutes Friday in helmets and shorts, the only change on their injury report was cornerback Jason Allen (quad) returning to practice after sitting out Thursday. With left end Carlos Dunlap (knee) and running back Bernard Scott (hand) not practicing again, they look headed to join rookie cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick on the Monday night's inactive list.
