Big crowd not expected at home finale

Slumping Bengals have been playing in front of a lot of empty seats.

The Cincinnati BenCINCINNATI — gals have one more chance to reward home fans for the investment of their time and money, but it might be too late.

Cincinnati (5-8) drew its smallest crowd since 2011 during its last game at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 2, and the Bengals host one of the few teams worse than they are Sunday in their home finale against the Oakland Raiders (3-10).

Any improvement in attendance would be the sign of a marketing miracle as the Bengals have lost five straight and dropped seven of their past eight games, although the lackluster AFC North still leaves room for Cincinnati to come away with the division with a sudden turnaround.

Players say they aren’t giving up and hope fans won’t quit on them — those that haven’t already, at least. Cincinnati is facing the possibility of its third straight losing season unless it wins out to finish 8-8.

“We’re not going to quit on no one,” wide receiver John Ross said when asked what the message to fans should be Sunday. “We’re not going to quit on each other. We’re not going to quit on our coaches. We’re definitely not going to quit on our fans.”

Ross said it’s disheartening to look around the stadium on game day and see so many empty seats, but he can’t really blame the fans considering the team’s performance this season.

Th e Be n ga l s have the second-lowest attendance in the

SUNDAY’S GAME

Raiders at Bengals,

1 p.m., WHIO-TVCh. 7, Ch. 12, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7