Highly-anticipated NFL rivalry showdown gets moved as league overhauls schedule after disappointing start to the season
The Week 5 clash between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears has been bumped up in the NFL’s first schedule flex of the season.
The Packers were set to host their NFC North rivals at Lambeau Field on October 11. The game was initially scheduled to kick off at 4:25pm ET.
However, the NFL has now exercised the decision to move the showdown up to the 1pm ET slot for the Week 5 slate of Sunday action.
The move leaves just two games in the 4:25pm ET slot for that date – the Detroit Lions at the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers at the Seattle Seahawks.
The NFC West showdown between the reigning Super Bowl champions and the Niners at Lumen Field is now expected to be the marquee national televised game.
The matchup between fierce rivals the Bears and Packers will still be televised, now being shown on Fox at 1pm ET.
The NFL has flexed the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers clash to a 1pm ET fixture for Week 5
The Bears could still be without starting q2uarterback Caleb Williams after a hamstring injury
The decision comes after a woeful start to the season for Green Bay who fell to 1-2 with a crushing defeat last week.
The Packers were humiliated in a 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on the Thursday Night Football primetime slot in Week 3.
The drubbing stunned a packed Lambeau Field and led to the home crowd booing their team off, with head coach Matt LaFleur’s seat now hotter than ever before.
‘It’s three games in,’ the coach told reporters postgame. ‘We’re nowhere where we need to be but there’s a lot of ball left in front of us,’ LaFleur said. ‘It was a butt-whipping.’
The Packers knew they’d have their hands full early in the season with their offense missing Josh Jacobs and their defense lacking Micah Parsons, but they couldn’t have expected their home opener to go this miserably.
With a makeshift offensive line struggling to give Jordan Love time to throw or to create running room for Jacobs’ backups, the Packers were embarrassed by the previously winless Atlanta Falcons, with their record moving to 1-2 on the year.
Meanwhile, the Bears are without starting quarterback Caleb Williams after he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 before backup Tyson Bagent was placed in the NFL concussion protocol midweek.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson was forced to turn to veteran third stringer Case Keenum for the team’s Week 3 clash against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Keenum managed to lead the Bears to a 27-7 rout over the Eagles on Monday night but with Williams still likely to be out by Week 5 the NFL has moved the fixture to the 1pm slate of action.
