It's official: Sunday's game between the Lions and Redskins will be blacked out in the Metro Detroit area. 8,500 tickets for the game are still available, so the Lions didn't even bother trying to get an extension to sell out the game, as it was unrealistic to think the blackout could be lifted.
What the blackout means is that the Lions will not be seen on local television for the first time all season. Four of the games were blacked out last season, and so far this year the Lions had made it two straight home games without facing a blackout.
Looking at the rest of the schedule, I'm sure there will be at least a couple more blackouts unless Detroit starts winning and increasing interest to go to games. The two home games after Sunday's are against the Jets and then the Patriots on Thanksgiving, so both of those games could be sellouts. After Thanksgiving, though, the Lions have two more home games in the next two weeks. Both are against divisional opponents, but selling out three games in a three-week stretch seems unlikely.