The Green Bay Packers have been one of the NFL’s biggest brands ever since they won three consecutive championships under team founder Curly Lambeau starting in 1929.
With the team having successfully ensured the transition from Hall of Famer quarterback to Hall of Fame quarterback to Jordan Love, the Packers have ensured they have remained at least competitive for the bulk of the past three-and-a-half decades.
In the minds of many Packers fans, the 35-14 loss at home against the Atlanta Falcons represented a turning point in the team’s fortunes after a third straight unimpressive performance to start the season, with many fans – and even former players – calling for head coach Matt LaFleur’s dismissal.
Packers – Bears Game Flexed to 1pm ET
And Green Bay fans may indeed be onto something as the franchise was flexed out of a better viewing spot for the first time since 2013.
Week 5 – Bears at Packers moves to 1:00 ET on FOX (originally scheduled for 4:25 ET)
With this flex, 49ers at Seahawks becomes the main 4:25 game on FOX’s Week 5 slate
The bout will swap spaces with the fellow divisional game between the in-form but heavily-injured San Francisco 49ers and reigning champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
Packers On Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber responded to this scheduling development with a simple three-word reply.
“Demotion for Packers.” Huber wrote in response to the news.
Why Was the Week 5 Packers – Bears Game Flexed?
In fairness to the Packers, the decision likely did not come down to just the Packers’ poor play; after Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring strain in Week 3, his availability for the forthcoming two game-days is up-in-the-air since Ian Rapoport reported that his injury is now considered grade 2 rather than grade 1.
Even with the very real – and at this point likely – possibility that the Bears are sans Williams heading into Week 5’s game, Packers/Bears is the NFL’s oldest rivalry and quite possibly still the biggest.
Especially considering the Bears did a very good job dismantling the Philadelphia Eagles at home on Monday night, winning the game comfortably 27-7.
So much of this clearly comes down to the Packers’ dire performances over the first few weeks of the season. Fans will hope that this “demotion” serves as a lesson and a wake-up call to Green Bay, who are 1-2 heading into Week 4, where they will head to South Florida to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Packers Face Embarrassment After First Negative Schedule Flex in 13 Years