1:54 PM - Welcome to my live game blog from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. From now until the end of today's game between the Bears and Bengals, I'll bring you the latest developments while also providing a behind-the-scenes look at what's transpiring on and off the field. So whether you're watching the game or not, follow along with my blog. I know it's a lofty goal, but I hope to entertain and inform this afternoon from the Queen City.

2:00 PM - Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) and running back Adrian Peterson (knee) will miss today's game with injuries. Second-year pro Marcus Harrison will start in Harris' place. Other Bears inactives are receiver Juaquin Iglesias, cornerback D.J. Moore, guard Louis Lance, and defensive tackles Matt Toeaina and Jarron Gilbert. Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who sustained a season-ending knee injury last Sunday night in Atlanta, is also on the inactive list.

2:04 PM - Bengals safety Roy Williams (forearm) and offensive tackle Andre Smith (foot) will miss today's game. Other inactives for Cincinnati are third quarterback Jordan Palmer, running back Brian Leonard, linebacker Dan Skuta, offensive tackle Scott Kooistra, tight end Chase Coffman and wide receiver Jerome Simpson.

2:09 PM - I'm going to head down to the field to see if I can find Dr. Johnny Fever or Les Nessman. (For all you youngsters out there, that's a reference to the old TV show "WKRP in Cincinnati.") I'll be back up blogging in the press box in a little while.

2:55 PM - I just returned from the field. It's pretty breezy down there. I spoke to punter Brad Maynard, and he said that it's difficult to gauge the wind, that it almost seems like it's blowing one way and then bouncing off one side of the stadium and swirling. My first impression of Cedric Benson is that he's been working out hard. He's ripped. He didn't look like that when he played for the Bears.

3:05 PM - Four of the six early games today were blowouts. I don't see the Bears-Bengals contest following suit. Both of these teams have gone down to the wire in every game except one so far this season. So this could be another nail-biter.

3:15 PM - The Bears called "tails" and lost the coin flip. The Bengals will receive the opening kickoff. Let's see if the defense can start quickly.

3:17 PM - With the Vikings (6-1) having lost to the Steelers, the Bears (3-2) can pull to within a game and a half of first-place Minnesota with a victory. The Packers have already won, routing the Browns 31-3 to improve to 4-2.

3:25 PM - The Bears defense looked horrendous on the game's opening possession as the Bengals marched 77 yards on eight plays, taking a 7-0 lead on Carson Palmer's 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry with 11:00 left in the first quarter. The Bears have now allowed a TD on their opponent's first possession in four of their last five games. Cincinnati had three big plays on the drive: Palmer completions of 19 yards to Chad Ochocinco and 17 yards to Henry, and Cedric Benson's 23-yard run. Memo to the defense: Wake up!

3:38 PM - The Bears picked up two first downs on their first possession, but ultimately were forced to punt. With the Bengals stacking eight defenders in the box on every play, I'm surprised that the Bears didn't take any shots down the field on their opening drive. The four passes that Jay Cutler did throw were all short throws. Let's see if they go deep the next time they have the ball.

3:45 PM - The Bengals are on the move again. They've averaged 10.5 yards per play to this point and have a first down at the Chicago 21. Alex Brown was just helped off the field after sustaining an injury on Bernard Scott's 11-yard run.

3:49 PM - The Bengals are making the Bears defense look like a high school team. Carson Palmer's 8-yard TD pass to Chad Ochocinco gave the Bengals a 14-0 lead with 1:07 left in the first quarter. Palmer's second TD on as many possessions capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive. This time, Cincinnati didn't even need a third down to move the ball the length of the field.

3:53 PM - That's the end of the first quarter with the Bears trailing 14-0. If they don't wake up, this could be the most embarrassing loss in several years. They're getting dominated up front on both sides of the ball. The Bengals outgained the Bears 157-22 in the first quarter. Ouch!

3:56 PM - Things are only getting worse ... Jay Cutler fumbled a low shotgun snap from Olin Kreutz. Cutler recovered the loose ball, but the Bears were forced to punt. Defensive end Alex Brown is back on the field, so he's apparently OK after getting shaken up earlier. Gaines Adams is also in the lineup making his Bears debut.

4:04 PM - If this game were a boxing match, the referee probably would have already stopped it: Three possessions for the Bengals. Three Carson Palmer touchdown passes to wide open receivers. The latest, a 3-yarder to tight end J.P. Foschi, made it 21-0. For the second straight drive, the Bengals didn't even need a third down to march the length of the field. I can't remember the last time I've seen the Bears so unprepared to play.

4:14 PM - Devin Hester caught a 15-yard pass, but was stripped of the ball. The Bengals recovered at their own 34-yard line. Let's see if the Bears defense can stop Cincinnati's offense.

4:25 PM - We've officially passed embarrassing and moved on to humiliating. Maybe I jinxed the Bears by predicting a close game. The Bengals took a 28-0 lead on Carson Palmer's fourth touchdown pass of the half, an 8-yarder to Laveranues Coles, with 2:49 remaining in the half.

4:28 PM - Somebody make it stop! Jay Cutler's pass intended for Earl Bennett was deflected high into the air by safety Chris Crocker and intercepted by cornerback Leon Hall, who returned it 23 yards to the Chicago 17. Cedric Benson's two-yard gain on the next play put him over 100 yards in the half.

4:31 PM - Shayne Graham's 29-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 31-0 lead with 1:10 left in the first half. That's four touchdowns and a field goal on five Cincinnati possessions. Wow.

4:42 PM - Robbie Gould's 22-yard field goal on the final play of the half drew the Bears to within 31-3. The Bears had the ball at the 4-yard line with :01 remaining and opted to kick the field goal. The 31 points ties for the third most the Bears have ever surrendered in the first half of a game. The only time they gave up more was 34 points to the Baltimore Colts on Oct. 4, 1958 and 33 points to the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 7, 2003.

4:48 PM - Wow, what an unbelievable first half. That performance was reminiscent of the Bears in the late 1990s when they seemingly would routinely get routed. I think the Bengals are even a little stunned at how easy it's been for them.

5:12 PM - Jay Cutler fumbled another shotgun snap from Olin Kreutz and later was intercepted for the second time by Bengals cornerback Leon Hall on a deep pass intended for Earl Bennett on fourth-and-five. Kreutz's body-slam of Hall along the sideline was arguably the Bears' best tackle today.

5:25 PM - Carson Palmer's 13-yard TD pass to Chad Ochocinco gave the Bengals a 38-3 lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter. As promised, Ochocinco performed a Samba dance in the end zone in honor of his friend, Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho. Carson Palmer has thrown 5 TD passes today, tying the record for the most against the Bears. Brett Favre, Tommy Kramer and Steve Spurrier have also accomplished the feat.

5:36 PM - Jay Cutler forced a pass that was intercepted over the middle. That's three picks for Cutler. The Bears offense has now turned the ball over four times on their last five possessions. I think it's about time to put Caleb Hanie in. There's no use risking an injury to Cutler.

5:37 PM - It just keeps getting better ... Cedric Benson's 1-yard TD run gave the Bengals a 45-3 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Benson has now rushed for 153 yards on 29 carries against his former team. The Bengals have six TDs and one field goal on seven possessions today!

5:48 PM - The Bears closed the gap to 45-10 on Jay Cutler's 5-yard TD pass to Devin Hester with 11:48 left in the fourth quarter. Hester has established career highs with eight catches for 101 yards. He is the first Bears receiver to compile at least 100 yards since Brandon Lloyd had 124 yards on Sept. 21, 2008 in an overtime loss to the Buccaneers.

5:50 PM - Carson Palmer has exited in favor of J.T. O'Sullivan after completing 20 of 24 passes for 233 yards with 5 touchdowns, no interceptions and a career-high 146.7 passer rating.

5:51 PM - Cedric Benson has rushed for a career-high 172 yards and 1 TD on 31 carries.

5:53 PM - This sums it all up ... the Bengals finally were forced to punt for the first time midway through the fourth quarter, and the Bears were promptly penalized for running into the kicker on fourth-and-four, giving the Bengals a first down.

6:03 PM - The Bears finally stopped the Bengals for the first time with 3:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. Caleb Hanie is in for the Bears. I know you didn't enjoy the game, but I'm hoping you liked the blog. Hang in there Bears fans, it's going to get better!