Bears-Packers Week 5 flexed from 4:25 to 1 p.m. ET kickoff
The NFL shifted Chicago's road game at Green Bay out of the late-afternoon window, moving it to 1 p.m. ET on Fox with Caleb Williams likely out
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The Bears' Week 5 trip to Lambeau Field has been moved out of the national late-afternoon window. The NFL announced Tuesday that the Chicago-Green Bay game at Lambeau will now kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Fox, a flex that pairs a banged-up Bears quarterback situation with the Packers' sluggish start to the season.
Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate): NFL schedule change: Bears at Packers in Week 5 is being moved from 4:25pm ET to 1pm ET. Seahawks-49ers will now be the marquee matchup in the 4:25pm ET window on FOX. Change is made with Caleb Williams likely out and the Packers' rough start to the season.
Ari Meirov laid out the ripple effect: the Seahawks-49ers showdown in Seattle takes over as the marquee matchup in the 4:25 p.m. ET window on Fox, while the Lions-Cardinals game in Arizona joins the late-afternoon slate as well.
The flex comes with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams likely unavailable — he sat out Monday night's win over the Eagles with a hamstring injury — and the Packers off to a rough start that has taken some national shine off the storied rivalry. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur's club entered Week 3 short of expectations, and the NFC North matchup projects as a regional draw rather than a prime national showcase.
Week 5's late-window landscape now features the Lions-Cardinals and Seahawks-49ers on Fox alongside a Broncos-Chargers regional on CBS in the late afternoon. The move frees the early national slot for the rivalry while giving Chicago a more favorable daytime setting for a road division game.