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11/08/2009 6:26 PM EST
Warner, Cardinals shred Bears 41-21
ARIZONA 41, CHICAGO 21

By ANDREW SELIGMAN
AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO(AP) -- From five interceptions to five touchdown passes,
Kurt Warner's one-week turnaround couldn't have been more
emphatic. Nor could the beating the Arizona Cardinals put on the
Chicago Bears.

Warner tied a career high by throwing for five touchdowns after
getting picked off five times the previous week, Larry
Fitzgerald added 123 yards receiving, and the Cardinals easily
handled the Bears 41-21 on Sunday.

Warner was at his best after a miserable performance in a 34-21
loss to Carolina. He handled a team that had a chance to sign
him as a backup four years ago, matching the record for TD
passes by a Bears opponent without getting intercepted.

"So much of this business is how you respond and how you come
back," Warner said. "I always want my teammates to know that I'm
going to be there every week battling with them. And if I have a
bad week, hopefully they can pick me up. If not, I'll try to do
my best the next."

Two of his touchdowns went to Fitzgerald, who had his way with
Charles Tillman before the cornerback left with a shoulder
injury in the second quarter.

"Kurt played just phenomenal again," said Fitzgerald, who has
family in Chicago and spent summers here as a child. "He was
making the right reads and getting the ball to the guys who were
open. When we're clicking like that, it's hard to stop us."

Warner was 22 of 31 for 261 yards and threw touchdown passes on
the first four possessions as the Cardinals surged ahead 34-7
after three quarters.

The Bears (4-4) got within 34-21 after Zackary Bowman returned
an interception by backup Matt Leinart 39 yards to the Arizona
28, setting up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Greg
Olsen with 9:04 left. That prompted the Cardinals to put Warner
back in the game.

Olsen had five catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns.
Otherwise, it was a rough afternoon for Chicago, which is in
danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight year.

Tim Hightower ran for 77 yards, Beanie Wells added 72 rushing
and the Cardinals' offense racked up 438 yards even though
Arizona was missing wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

He missed the game with a sprained right ankle, although he said
it was fine.

"I'd felt better if somebody had been man enough and walked up
to me and told me what the situation was," Boldin said.

Despite missing one of their top receivers, the Cardinals (5-3)
improved to 4-0 on the road.

And they didn't have to contend with Chicago's Tommie Harris.
The three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle slugged offensive guard
Deuce Lutui in the head as they were on the ground on the game's
first possession, resulting in his ejection, and the Bears
quickly unraveled.

Particularly troubling to coach Lovie Smith was Harris' hit.

"I know the result," Smith said. "There's nothing Tommie can
really tell me."

Lutui said he was "really shocked" by the hit and called it
"such a surprise that it happened."

Harris did not make himself available to reporters after the
game.

Cutler passed for 369 yards while completing 29 of 47 passes and
was sacked four times.

The Bears have little time to regroup, with a Thursday night
game at San Francisco.

Things weren't looking good for the Bears after Harris got
tossed for slugging Lutui near the face after they ended up on
the ground following a run play. They only got worse from there.

His 11-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald capped the opening
drive, giving the Cardinals a 7-0 lead. The Bears quickly tied
it thanks to two long passes by Cutler - a 42-yarder to Devin
Hester and a 33-yard touchdown to Olsen - but the Cardinals
wasted no time busting open this game.

Arizona responded with a 74-yard drive Warner finished with a
6-yard pass to Ben Patrick that made it 14-7.

NOTES: Warner also threw for five touchdowns twice while with
St. Louis: against San Francisco in October 1999 and against
Minnesota in the playoffs in January 2000. ... Arizona held out
LB Gerald Hayes with a back injury. ... Besides Harris and
Tillman, the Bears lost S Al Afalava (shoulder) and backup RB
Garrett Wolfe (back).

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