The Packers-Bears matchup in Week 5 will no longer be part of FOX’s late-afternoon showcase. The NFL has flexed the game at Lambeau Field from the 3:25 PM Central “Game of the Week” slot to a 12:00 Noon Central kickoff.
That change comes after the early-season picture shifted quickly. Green Bay entered the year with the game lined up as one of the network’s priorities after the two teams split the 2025 regular-season series and then added a thriller in the Wild Card round. But through three weeks, the Packers are 1-2, with their only win coming in overtime against the New York Jets, and Chicago still won’t have Caleb Williams for a few more weeks as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain.
With the Packers-Bears game moved earlier, FOX will now use 49ers-Seahawks as its more attractive late-afternoon national window.
The flex also changes the spotlight on Green Bay’s new “Rivalries” uniforms. The Packers are set to wear them for the first time in this game, while the Bears will unveil theirs in the Christmas Day rematch at Soldier Field.
There’s another wrinkle here, too: this means both Packers-Bears games will kick off at Noon Central only the second time in more than 20 years. The holiday rematch will still air nationally, and the same unusual setup also happened in 2024, though that Week 18 kickoff wasn’t finalized until the end of the season. Before that, the last time it happened was 2004, which also featured a season-ending meeting.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Earned A Huge Road Win And Got No Respect After
After Wisconsin walked out of Beaver Stadium with a big road win over Penn State, the Badgers got the kind of acknowledgment that often comes after the final score has already been filed away. In the postgame news conference, Penn State head coach Matt Campbell spent his time on his own teams mistakes, pointing to missed chances and a touchdown that came after a player slipped, rather than giving Wisconsin much public credit for the result.
For Wisconsin, the scoreboard was the only endorsement it needed, but the tone afterward left the Badgers in an odd spot for a win that should have carried plenty of respect. The focus from the other sideline stayed on Penn States self-inflicted problems and the opportunities it let get away, which means Wisconsins performance in a tough road setting may end up getting less attention than the result deserved. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin May Already Have Its Most Reliable Weapon Off The Bench
Through four games, Darrion Dupree has gone from promising depth piece to one of Wisconsins most dependable offensive answers. He led the Badgers in rushing yards in a recent game, but his value has stretched well beyond the backfield, with meaningful production as a receiver and the kind of all-purpose utility that gives an offense a little more shape when it needs it most.
Duprees rise matters even more because Wisconsin has been sorting through injuries and uneven play from other options such as Abu Sama and Malachi Coleman. A dropped pass in one game did not keep Dupree from rebounding, and his knack for forcing missed tackles has made him look like an every-down back. The larger question now is whether his role keeps expanding from useful spark to the centerpiece of what this offense can trust every week. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Gets A Big Ten Test It Cant Afford To Waste
Saturdays Big Ten matchup in Madison arrives with a little more edge than a typical early kickoff, even before Wisconsin and Michigan State take the field at 11:30 a.m. CT on the Big Ten Network. The Badgers will get the Spartans in a conference game that carries the usual late-season weight, and the buildup has included the standard details fans track this time of year: the odds, the broadcast crew, the weather outlook and the history between the programs.
The next checkpoint comes Friday, when the injury reports are expected to be released and give a clearer picture of who is available for both sides. For Wisconsin, that makes the eve of the game worth watching closely, because a conference test like this can turn quickly on availability, especially with a familiar opponent and a setting where every possession tends to matter a little more. [Read more 🡒]