The Arizona Cardinals' lead was starting to shrink and Larry Fitzgerald was flashing back to that awful meltdown against the Chicago Bears three years ago.

This time, there was no need to worry.

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

A few nerve-wracking moments in the fourth quarter aside, this game was every bit as easy as the score indicated. And Warner was at his best after a miserable performance in a 34-21 loss to Carolina. He handled a team that wanted to sign him as a backup four years ago, matching the record for TD passes by a Bears opponent without getting intercepted.

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"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 touchdown passes 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. The Cardinals surged ahead 34-7 through 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 and sparked memories of that colossal meltdown at home in 2006.

Remember that?

The Bears rallied to a 24-23 win and then-Arizona coach Dennis Green unleashed his memorable "The Bears are who we thought they were!" rant afterward.

"I would be lying to you if I told you it didn't cross my mind," Fitzgerald said. "But we have a resilient group of guys, and we were able to close it out."

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.