LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears already knew they were opening the 2009 season Sept. 13 against the Packers in Green Bay on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. But the NFL schedule, which was released Tuesday, has Chicago playing a total of five nationally-televised primetime contests. (Click here to view Bears schedule.)

The Bears will visit the Atlanta Falcons Oct. 18 and host the Philadelphia Eagles Nov. 22 on Sunday Night Football, visit the San Francisco 49ers Nov. 12 in NFL Network’s first Thursday night game of the season, and host the Minnesota Vikings Dec. 28 on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

Brian Urlacher and the Bears will battle Adrian Peterson and the Vikings Nov. 29 and again Dec. 28.

“We’re excited about this year’s schedule,” said coach Lovie Smith. “It’s always nice to have a number of nationally-televised games, and with five on the schedule, our fans around the country will have plenty of opportunities to watch us in prime time.”

For the third time in franchise history, the Bears will open their home schedule against the defending Super Bowl champions when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers Sept. 20 at 3:15 p.m. Chicago time.

The Bears will then visit the Seattle Seahawks Sept. 27 (3:05 p.m.) and host the Detroit Lions Oct. 4 (noon) before an early Week 5 bye.

After playing three straight road games late last season, the Bears are away from home in back-to-back weeks only once when they visit Atlanta and Cincinnati Oct. 25 (noon) after their bye.

They follow that two-game trip with consecutive Sunday home contests against the Cleveland Browns Nov. 1 and the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals Nov. 8 (both at noon).

After back-to-back primetime match-ups at San Francisco and against Philadelphia, the Bears visit the Vikings to kick off a stretch in which they play four of their final six games versus NFC North opponents.

After hosting the St. Louis Rams Dec. 6 (noon) and the Packers Dec. 13 (noon), the Bears visit the Baltimore Ravens Dec. 20 (noon) and host the Vikings on Monday Night Football before closing the regular season in Detroit against the Lions Jan. 3 (noon).

“We look forward to the challenge of playing four of our first six games on the road,” Smith said. “But I like that we only have one two-game road stretch and the fact we play three home games in December where I know our fans will give  us an advantage.”

Late-season games against the Eagles Nov. 22, Vikings Nov. 29, Rams Dec. 6, Packers Dec. 13, Ravens Dec. 20 and Lions Jan. 3 are subject to the NFL’s flexible scheduling.

Preseason dates and times set
The Bears also finalized their 2009 preseason schedule on Tuesday. They will open the slate against the Bills in Buffalo at 6 p.m. (CT) Saturday, Aug. 15 before hosting the Giants at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22 at Soldier Field. The Bears will then visit the Denver Broncos in a nationally-televised Sunday Night Football game on NBC at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30 before closing the preseason by hosting the Browns at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 at Soldier Field.

The games against the Bills, Giants and Browns will be produced and distributed by the Chicago Bears Network throughout the Midwest. In Chicago, the contests will air in HD on Fox (WFLD) with former Bears quarterback Erik Kramer as color analyst and Lou Canellis as sideline reporter.

Training camp kicks off July 31
With the preseason opener set, the Bears have announced that they will begin training camp on Friday, July 31 at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais. (NFL teams cannot report to camp until 15 days before their first preseason game.) A complete practice schedule will be released at a later date.