For the second game in three weeks, the Bears fell way behind early and were totally outclassed by a team widely considered on the same level as them entering the game. But clearly, both the Bengals three weeks ago and the Cardinals Sunday proved to be far more worthy of being legitimate playoff contenders than the Bears following their 41-21 drubbing by Arizona before a very disgruntled home crowd.

Making matters worse was the terribly stupid decision by Bears DT Tommie Harris to punch Cardinals OG Deuce Lutui four plays into the game — an ill-timed move that resulted in Harris’ immediate ejection from the game and a dramatic momentum shift in the Cardinals’ favor. With Harris gone early and subsequent shoulder injuries to CB Charles Tillman and SS Al Alafava not helping matters, the Bears’ defense, under the direction of head coach Lovie Smith, once again imploded, allowing the Cardinals to gain 438 yards, including 182 on the ground from a RB corps that was the lowest-ranked in the league entering the game.

Said Fox TV football commentator and former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman of another very shaky Bears performance: “I thought they played high school football on Friday nights.”

PFW spin

Let’s start with the obvious. Harris, who has proven to be on a par with the Cubs’ Milton Bradley in the mental-midget department, could be on his last legs as a Bear following his latest snafu.

“That kind of play is unacceptable, for you to get ejected from the game,” teammate Adewale Ogunleye said after the game of Harris’ early removal from the game. “I don’t care what happens, you can’t do it. You’re a leader out there.” But Harris, whose fragile psyche and limited playing time due to his well-documented knee problems, can no longer be counted on to be anything close to a leader with the poor example he continues to set.

Which leads us to the overall emotional state of the Bears right now, which appears to be on increasing shaky ground. QB Jay Cutler — who actually performed pretty well and threw a couple of on-the-money bullets that only a few QBs in the league are capable of throwing — was called for an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for mouthing off, and the Bears had nine penalties overall. Could it be that with Smith concentrating more on trying to get the defense to play better, he is not spending enough time in the head-coaching role in terms of keeping his team on an even keel and more cognizant of the need to play smart, error-free football? That’s a good question, especially considering how far downhill the defense has gone the past three weeks.

Sharing the blame with Smith are his assistant coaches, led by D-line coach Rod Marinelli, whose unit has been shockingly ineffective ever since the trade with the Buccaneers for former first-round draft pick Gaines Adams. With the pass rush all but disappearing recently, it boggles the mind as to why Adams isn’t seeing more action up front. The situation isn’t any better in other areas of the defense. At linebacker, it appears the team really is starting to miss six-time Pro Bowler Brian Urlacher in the middle after all. And in the secondary, it’s worth noting that Tillman was getting absolutely torched by Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald before he left the game with an injury.

For better or worse, the Bears’ act will be on a national stage before we know it three nights from now in San Francisco, when the team tangles with the Niners, coached by ex-Bears great Mike Singletary. A loss in that game would put the Bears’ playoff hopes in a very serious bind, with the likelihood of finishing even .500 looking like it could be in serious jeopardy. Did we mention that after facing the Niners, the Bears get the Eagles and Vikings in successive weeks? It’s possible that the way things are going, the biggest question heading into December might be whether or not Harris is still even on the roster.

As for Smith, with the Bears’ head coach still set to receive $11 million before his contract runs out after the 2011 season, it’s unlikely that the Bears would consider canning him after this season. But with a few more losses like the ones against Cincinnati and Arizona, you never know.