LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Rashied Davis’ first pro touchdown without a roof over his head did more than just give the Bears an insurmountable 27-0 halftime lead in Sunday’s 40-7 romp over the Buffalo Bills.

It also provided further evidence of the slot receiver’s dynamic playmaking ability. Two weeks after his game-winning 24-yard TD catch lifted the Bears over the Vikings in the Metrodome, Davis found the end zone again, beating a blitz on third-and-goal from the 15.

Rashied Davis' 15-yard TD catch gave the Bears a 27-0  lead Sunday against Buffalo.

“I knew I was one-on-one with the safety and I knew I had to get around him,” said Davis, who played cornerback last year in his rookie season with the Bears. “I looked up once I got around him and the ball was coming to me.”

The end zone is a familiar place for Davis, who scored a team-record 44 touchdowns for the San Jose SaberCats in the Arena Football League in 2005.

His experience in the pinball-like indoor game no doubt helped him make a 19-yard reception of a deflected pass on third-and-six in the third quarter against Buffalo.

After Rex Grossman’s pass had caromed high into the air off receiver Muhsin Muhammad, Davis slipped past three Buffalo defenders before leaping to haul in the ball. The heads-up play eventually led to a Robbie Gould field goal that extended the Bears’ lead to 30-0.

“Playmakers seem to come up and make those kind of plays,” said coach Lovie Smith. “They’re at the right place at the right time. We talk a lot about playing hard and playing hard is just playing until the whistle blows, and that’s what he was doing. Rashied seems to play at a fast level most of the time and we’re glad he was playing that way on that play.”

Clean slate: Rookie quarterback Matt Leinart led the Cardinals to a 23-16 preseason win over the Bears Aug. 25 at Soldier Field. But Smith doesn’t think that the first-round pick’s performance in that game will have much of an impact on Monday night’s contest in Arizona.

Leinart, who recently supplanted veteran Kurt Warner as the Cardinals’ starter, completed 15 of 21 passes for 144 yards with 1 TD and a 106.1 passer rating in the preseason game in Chicago.

“Matt Leinart is a good football player, but this is the first time we will have played him as I see it,” Smith said. “They were able to have some success against us back then, but it’s a totally different mindset. We’re excited about the opportunity to play the Cardinals again.”

Waiting game: The Bears are still waiting to find out whether cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. will be disciplined by the NFL after pleading no contest to an assault charge. Manning leads the team with three interceptions, all in the last two games.

“We would like to hear from the league as soon as possible, and I assume we will,” Smith said. “We assume when they make a decision they’ll let us know, and that’s soon enough for me.”

If Manning does get suspended, Todd Johnson would take over as the Bears' nickel back.

“We have depth,” Smith said. “If a player’s ready to go, we put him in the lineup. If he’s not, it’s time for the next guy to step up. Todd Johnson is our backup nickel. Todd played an outstanding football game (Sunday).”

Briefly: Brian Griese completed 4 of 4 passes for 29 yards in mop-up duty against the Bills. The backup quarterback  has connected on all five of his attempts for 34 yards and a 95.0 passer rating this season. … Justin Gage caught passes of 13 and 4 yards from Griese in the fourth quarter Sunday, his first receptions of the season. … Undrafted rookie cornerback Carlos Hendricks, who spent training camp and the preseason with the Bears before being waived, signed a two-year contract on Tuesday with the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League.