LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears will open the 2009 season against the Green Bay Packers Sept. 13 at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football, the NFL announced Monday.

Charles Tillman drops Donald Driver in the Bears' 20-17 overtime win over the Packers last season.

The Bears also opened the 2008 season on Sunday Night Football, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 29-13 last Sept. 7 in the inaugural game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

In five seasons as Bears coach, Lovie Smith has compiled a 7-3 record against the Packers. By comparison, predecessors Dave Wannstedt (1-11) and Dick Jauron (2-8) combined to go 3-19 versus Green Bay.

Smith had won his first four games at Lambeau Field before suffering a 37-3 defeat last season that remains his most lopsided loss as Bears coach.

The Bears will open the regular season on the road for the fifth straight year and the eighth time in the last 10 years. The last time they opened five straight seasons away from home was when they did so for 28 consecutive years from 1940-67 while sharing Wrigley Field with the Cubs.

The Bears will open the regular season on primetime national television for the fifth time in team history. Prior to last year, the Bears opened on Monday Night Football with wins over the New York Giants in 1987 and Dallas Cowboys in 1996 at Soldier Field and a loss to the Packers in Green Bay in 1997.

The NFL also announced Monday that the 2009 regular season will begin on Thursday night, Sept. 10, with the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Tennessee Titans.

A Monday Night Football Week 1 doubleheader will be part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary season of the American Football League. The four teams in action that night began playing in the inaugural AFL season in 1960. In those games, the New England Patriots will host the Buffalo Bills, followed by the Oakland Raiders hosting the San Diego Chargers.

The three Thanksgiving Day games will feature the Packers visiting the Lions, the Raiders visiting the Dallas Cowboys and the Giants visiting the Denver Broncos. The Bears have not played on Thanksgiving since 2004.

The rest of the NFL schedule will be announced in April.