NFL sends a clear message about the Packers and Bears with its latest schedule decision
The league moved the game between Green Bay and Chicago to noon in Week 5.
The NFL decided to flex the Week 5 game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears from the 3:25 p.m. (CT) second window to noon (CT), and the move reflects how the league perceives Green Bay after a disappointing 1-2 start to the 2026 season, but also a question mark about some impactful injury situations for both sides. The Packers-Bears rivalry matchup will air on Fox, while the San Francisco 49ers-Seattle Seahawks game takes over as the main second window game.
When the NFL originally scheduled the Week 5 matchup, the expectation was that the game would be massive. The Bears-Packers rivalry had plenty of momentum after a strong 2025, which included some emotional games and a playoff win for the Bears against the Packers at Soldier Field. The situation has changed to a certain extent, though.
Caleb Williams and Micah Parsons’ injury situations are something to monitor
The situation involving Caleb Williams’ hamstring injury has continued to fluctuate like a pendulum since he first went down in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. At first glance, it looked like a potential season ending injury for Chicago’s rising star. Then, Chicago got the best possible news that Williams only suffered a hamstring strain. And the recent update was that Williams is dealing with a Grade 2 strain with a 3-4 week timeline.
That put Williams’ status into question for Chicago’s highly anticipated Week 5 game against the Packers. The Bears did not rule Williams out for Week 3 until Saturday, two days before the game, and there’s an early belief that Williams will sit out again in Week 4 against the New York Jets. However, head coach Ben Johnson noted that Williams can be a little super-human at times with how he bounces back from injuries so we can’t fully count him out from returning in Week 5.
“I know he’s an antsy individual,” Ben Johnson said of Williams last Wednesday. “He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there on the grass going full speed. So it is a little bit more challenging to hold a guy back like that. But if you could build a player, that’s what you’d want him to be like.”
With Williams out on Monday, the Bears turned to veteran Case Keenum against the Philadelphia Eagles, who operated Johnson’s offense at a very high level. That being said, Johnson is still interested to see what Tyson Bagent could look like as well starting for this offense, something we could possibly see against the Jets. As far as the Packers game is concerned, I still see Williams coming back in time for that game, although the Bears need to be smart with how they manage this particular injury.
Meanwhile, Micah Parsons could theoretically return to action in Week 5 after starting the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. However, the Packers decided not to open his 21-day practice window this week. Considering Parsons will need a solid ramp up period after recovering from an ACL injury for nine months, it’s more realistic that the edge defender will only be able to play in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Still a meaningful NFC North game
Moving the game to the first window makes it less appealing for the general public, but it does not change the stakes within the division. After three weeks, the Bears sit at 2-1 and the Packers at 1-2. The NFC North picture is still open, and a loss for Green Bay in this spot would put the Packers in a difficult hole early in the season.
The flex does not alter the competitive implications. It does, however, reveal how the league is perceiving the Packers after the first three games of the season, and it is not a flattering assessment.
The first Bears-Packers game of the season will air on Fox in the noon (CT) window in Week 5. The second matchup between these two NFC North rivals will come on Christmas Day, a Friday, on Netflix.
The reason the Week 5 game had to stay on Fox comes down to broadcast rules. Fox holds the NFC rights, and the NFL can only move one divisional rivalry game per season away from its original broadcast partner. That move will happen with the second meeting, leaving this first matchup locked into Fox regardless of the time slot change.
