SAN DIEGO -- No sponsors are coming to the rescue this time.

The San Diego Chargers announced on Thursday afternoon that the team's 4:25 ET home contest this Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals will be subject to blackout locally in Southern California, according to the NFL's policy that requires all games sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff.

More than 5,300 tickets remain for Sunday's contest, which is the first NFL game that will be blacked out to local markets this season.

The Chargers were in a similar situation earlier this season when the team's Oct. 14 contest against Indianapolis did not sell enough tickets for the Monday Night Football game.

However, a day after applying for and receiving a 24-hour extension on Friday to try and sell nearly 9,000 tickets, the team announced that a group of local sponsors, along with ESPN, guaranteed the purchase of enough tickets to lift the local television blackout.

The team did not apply for a 24-hour extension this time, even though the Chargers had less tickets remaining. And no local sponsorship stepped up to guarantee the purchase of enough tickets. Four of the Chargers' eight games last season were blacked out.