Last year, there was a standard blog item leading up to a Cincinnati Bengals home game -- the announcement of another blackout. That's not the case this year.

The Bengals have sold out Sunday's home opener against the Browns. That means Cincinnati has already sold out three games this season (Pittsburgh and Dallas are the other ones), one more than the team had for all of 2011.

Last season, the Bengals sold out its game against Pittsburgh, when a large contingent of Steelers fans made their way from Western Pennsylvania, and the regular-season finale against Baltimore, which was helped by a special "buy one, get one free" promotion for season-ticket holder.

The season didn't get off to a great start for the Bengals, who lost by 31 points at Baltimore on Monday. Perhaps a real home-field advantage for the Bengals will be the spark they need against the Browns on Sunday. Then again, the Bengals were 4-2 last season when games were blacked out at home and 0-2 when games at Paul Brown Stadium were sold out.