ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars will be blacked out on local television after the home team announced on Wednesday that more than 15,000 tickets remain unsold.
The Bills have lost four of the last five games after a 3-3 start, and at 4-7, are all but out of playoff contention. The Jaguars (2-9) have lost eight of the last nine games and are in last place in the AFC South.
"It is tough," Bills running back Fred Jackson said. "You definitely want a full crowd to play in front of. But we will come out and play and try and put on a show for the fans that are in the stands. That is just about it, come out there and do what we can and show up and play football. The fans that are coming out to watch, hopefully we can go out and get a win for them."
More than 15,000 tickets also remain for the Dec. 30 game vs. the New York Jets and more than 10,000 are available for the Dec. 9 game with St. Louis, as the Bills play out the string, with more off-season changes looming.
"That is our responsibility. Win to keep the fans excited about the football team," Bills coach Chan Gailey said. "That is our responsibility. The fans are great. They are extremely loyal and they want a winner just like anybody else.
"I totally understand that."
Buffalo's cold Decembers have long accounted for late-season attendance problems. But the team's on-field travails are not helping the cause, either. On Oct. 14, after a 19-16 win over the Cardinals in Arizona, the Bills were tied for first place in the AFC East with three other teams, and there was optimism abound.
Now, they are tied for last place with the Jets (4-7).
"Unfortunately you look at how much excitement there was at the beginning of the year and how we have not met expectations that we have had for ourselves and people have had for us," quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. "That is going to happen.
"The only way you bring them back is winning games."
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NOTES: DT Spencer Johnson, DE Chris Kelsay and De Mark Anderson all missed practice Thursday. Johnson was sick. ... There's an "outside possibility" that Aaron Williams will play Sunday, according to Gailey. ... CB Justin Rogers was limited in practice due to a foot injury, suffered on Wednesday. ... The Bills practiced outside in a very windy Ralph Wilson Stadium.
