Bears to open season on a Sunday night in Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Colts will open Lucas Oil Stadium with a prime-time game against the Bears on the NFL's opening weekend.

The Sept. 7 rematch of the 2007 Super Bowl won by the Colts will be played Sunday night in the new $700 million stadium in Indianapolis. NBC will televise the game.

The Colts plans to play preseason games in the 63,000-seat ballpark in August.

Also on the opening weekend schedule is a prime-time Monday doubleheader on ESPN, with Minnesota visiting the Brett Favre-less Green Bay Packers at 6 p.m. and Denver at Oakland at 9:15 p.m.

Perviously reported was the Thursday night season opener hosted by the New York Giants. The Super Bowl champions will play Washington, with an earlier-than-usual starting time of 6 p.m. in deference to the final night of the Republican Convention.

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