NFL flexes Week 16 Packers vs. Bears game into primetime, bumps Eagles vs. Commanders

The NFL has made a massive change to its Week 16 schedule. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league has flexed a Dec. 20 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears into the 8:20 p.m. ET slot, replacing the originally scheduled contest between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders.

Instead, the Eagles and Commanders will play in an earlier time slot at 5 p.m. ET. It will mark the first Saturday game of the 2025 NFL season.

The decision from the NFL likely comes due to the fact that Green Bay and Chicago are currently both in the race for not only the NFC North division title, but also the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Washington has effectively (though not officially) been eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-9 record.

This won’t be the first time that the two division rivals have met this season. The Bears and Packers are also set to face off on Sunday for the first time this year at Lambeau Field. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET.

This also isn’t the only game that the NFL has flexed this season. The league also moved a Week 13 matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills from a 4:25 p.m. ET this past Sunday to 1 p.m. ET the same day.

Flex scheduling has been around in the NFL since 2006 and typically focuses on primetime games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights. This allows the NFL to adjust its schedule based on the results of the season to put more interesting matchups in those spots.

Additionally, the league has still not announced times or dates for Week 18 matchups. This allows the NFL to make sure that the most intriguing games can be put in the primetime slots for the final week of the regular season.

It seems there’s already a lot of hype surrounding the matchup between the Bears and Packers, two bitter division rivals. Chicago has not won the NFC North since 2018, while Green Bay last won it in 2021. Both teams also still have the Detroit Lions, last season’s division winner, right behind them.

Sunday’s matchup between the Bears and Packers will offer up a preview of the Week 16 primetime showdown. One team will gain an advantage in the standings over the other with a win, and we’ll see who it is.