The historic Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers rivalry has a new kickoff time in Week 5.
The kickoff time for the Green Bay Packers Week 5 matchup against the Chicago Bears has been moved from the mid-afternoon time slot to Noon CT.
Under normal circumstances, this likely would've been FOX's Game of the Week; however, quite a few injuries and other situations have made that no longer the case.
Chicago will likely still be without Caleb Williams, and even though Micah Parsons is only on the PUP list through Week 4, the chances of him returning by Sunday, Oct. 11, are quite slim.
All of that said, the Packers are 1-2. Seemingly nothing has gone right for them this season, and it took a relative miracle for them to even beat the New York Jets.
While there's nothing wrong with playing in the first game of the day, it's not often a Packers team has been demoted from a "primetime" timeslot, though that's the kind of wake-up call this team needs after they were blown out on Thursday Night Football by the Atlanta Falcons.
First Bears vs. Packers meeting won't be the same
After three memorable meetings last season, the first time these two teams play in the 2026 season simply won't have that same feeling.
The NFL may have purposely scheduled this game for Week 5 in an attempt to have it be Parsons' first game back from the PUP, but they had no idea Williams would get hurt so early into the season.
Who knows, there's a chance Jordan Love misses this one as well if the Packers offensive line doesn't turn things around in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Regardless, it's still the Bears vs. Packers, and the animosity will be at an all-time high. This rivalry hasn't gone anywhere, and the Ben Johnson era in Chicago has seemingly only added more fuel to the fire.
Will the Packers be 2-2 going into Week 5?
Green Bay recently learned they won't have to play Baker Mayfield on Sunday, Oct. 4, due to a thumb injury that will keep him out for close to a month.
So, that means there's a high likelihood of them playing a pair of backup quarterbacks in back-to-back weeks.
If the Packers can't win those games, what can they win this season? Securing an early-season victory against the Bears would be a huge confidence boost, though Bears fans will let Green Bay hear it as there's likely no chance Williams suits up for the Oct. 11 matchup.
