Two teams considered to be among the best in the NFL will square-off Monday night when the Chicago Bears travel to take on the San Francisco 49ers in what could be a preview of this year’s NFC Championship game. According …

The key storyline out of both San Francisco (6-2-1) and Chicago (7-2) this week is the status of their respective quarterbacks. The 49ers' Alex Smith and Bears' Jay Cutler were both knocked out with concussions last Sunday, but it appears only one will be able to play Monday night. Smith, who left in the first quarter of the 49ers 24-24 tie against St. Louis, was cleared to participate in non-contact drills Wednesday and looks on track to get the start Monday. Cutler, who was knocked out just before halftime of the Bears 13-6 loss to the Houston Texans, was reportedly “getting better” by head coach Lovie Smith, but still doubtful to play Monday night. If Cutler can't go, veteran Jason Campbell will take over at quarterback. San Francisco had a two-game winning streak snapped in their disappointing tie against the Rams as 13.5-point home favorites last week. They remain in sole possession of first-place in the NFC West by 1 1/2-games over Seattle.

The 49ers were lucky not to lose against the Rams and you can expect head coach Jim Harbaugh didn't hesitate to rattle some cages this week in practice. Not having Smith for the majority of the game obviously hurt the 49ers chances, but they still feature an elite running back in Frank Gore and one of the league's top defenses. That alone should have been enough to beat the sub-.500 Rams.

San Francisco will catch a huge break if the quarterback situation plays out as expected, with Smith under center and Cutler on the sidelines. If the 49ers can manage to refrain from turnovers against the Bears ball-hawking defense they should be in good shape to bounce-back and get the win and the cover.