How Every Fringe Contender Can Still Make the NFL Playoffs

As we head into the fourth month of the NFL season, the league's playoff picture is starting to take shape. There are several NFL teams that are still within striking distance of a playoff berth, including the revamped Arizona Cardinals, who are coming off a big win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. 

In contrast to Arizona's surprising campaign, the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens are on the bubble heading into Week 13, currently sitting in eighth in the AFC. 

Besides these two teams, there are a handful other teams that could very well get hot and make a strong run at the postseason.

*All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.

Philadelphia Eagles

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Nick Foles is on quite a roll.

When Chip Kelly finally officially named Nick Foles the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback through the end of the season Tuesday, he cemented the distinct possibility that the Eagles could actually run the table and take the NFC East crown from the clutches of the Dallas Cowboys. Foles has only started a handful of games, but he's shown incredible ability as a dynamic passer in Kelly’s offense. 

Although he’s not the guy you might think of when talking about the league’s best quarterbacks, who has been quite as impressive as Foles through the past four games? Not many. 

Between Foles’ hot hand and the improved performance from Philadelphia’s defense, it will be hard to stop the Eagles from making a run in the playoffs, even as a wild card.

Pittsburgh Steelers

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Not many offenses have been more explosive than Pittsburgh's these last two weeks.

After starting 0-4, things were looking pretty bleak for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But they’ve since posted a record of 5-2 and have been especially efficient in these past two weeks. 

Big Ben Roethlisberger had his best game by far against the Detroit Lions two weeks ago, throwing for 367 yards and four touchdowns. He followed that up with a 217-yard, two-touchdown performance this past week against the Browns. 

The Steelers are on a three-game wining streak and don’t show many signs of slowing up. They have a date with the division-rival Ravens on Thanksgiving, one that will surely be a hard-fought contest. 

The last time these two teams met, the Steelers won by three in what was one of the grittiest games of the 2013 season. 

Outside of their prime-time game against the Cincinnati Bengals in a couple of weeks, each of their last five games is pretty winnable. They play the struggling Miami Dolphins at home before hosting Cincinnati, then finish up their season on the road against the Green Bay Packers and at home against the Cleveland Browns. 

Pittsburgh has a real chance at clawing its way into the playoff picture.

Arizona Cardinals

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The Cardinals have rediscovered their explosive offense and is on a bit of a hot streak heading into Week 13.

The Arizona Cardinals are just one game out of a wild-card spot in the NFC and have a pretty clear path to success if they can just maintain what they have going on offensively in the last few weeks of the season. 

Carson Palmer has assumed the role as team leader and has an impressive 8-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the Cardinals’ last four games. His most recent performance against the Colts was one of his best of the year, as he threw for 314 yards with two touchdowns and a 70.3 percent completion rate. 

The team also finally got what it was hoping for from Rashard Mendenhall—a downhill runner who strides with purpose. Mendenhall had a nice game last weekend behind Arizona's surprisingly proficient makeshift offensive line (4.2 yards per carry and a touchdown). 

Things are also clicking on defense. Rookie Tyrann Mathieu (61 tackles, two interceptions) has performed at a high level, as has Karlos Dansby (84 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions), who’s in his first season with the team. 

The Cardinals have a good enough defense and a dangerous enough offense that could drive them right into the playoff race.

Baltimore Ravens

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Joe Flacco has been hot and cold this season and will need to stay warm if he wants to lead his team to another deep playoff run.

Joe Flacco has received much scrutiny from NFL fans and pundits alike for not performing up to the money in his contract. He signed a six-year, $120 million deal with Baltimore earlier this year but has failed to play up to that deal.

Blame it on the receivers, the running backs or the offensive line, but Flacco has certainly played his role in the Ravens' misfortunes this season. That being said, the team is fortunately still in the mix for a wild-card spot. 

Baltimore sits just two games outside of the sixth seed and could make a statement on Thanksgiving in its game against the division-rival Steelers. If the Ravens are able to pull off a win against Pittsburgh, they'll have a good chance at being able to snag a wild-card spot before all is said and done.

Especially if the team can get a little more consistency from its receivers, a playoff spot is not out of the question.

Chicago Bears

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The Bears have been able to do just fine without Jay Cutler, but they'll really stake their claim as a playoff team when he returns.

The Chicago Bears seemed to have another stroke of bad luck when Jay Cutler went down with injury, but backup Josh McCown has been playing his butt off in Cutler's place. McCown has thrown for 1,106 yards and nine touchdown passes compared to just one interception in five games.

Cutler is expected to sit once again when the Bears take on the Minnesota Vikings this weekend, according to John Breech CBSSports.com. And given the disarray of Minnesota’s entire franchise, it shouldn’t be too hard for McCown and Co. to get a win. 

When Cutler does come back, the Bears offense should take off even more and be just about as explosive as any other offense in this league. Chicago is only one game behind the Lions in the NFC North and has three very winnable games coming up against the Vikings, Browns and Packers. 

If the team can string together a couple of wins, the Bears could very easily earn themselves a playoff spot.

San Diego Chargers

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Phillip Rivers has been playing as good as ever.

Philip Rivers has garnered much criticism throughout his career for being inconsistent and losing big games or crumbling under the stress of a game with playoff implications.

Well, that hasn’t been the story in 2013. 

He has performed well in head coach Mike McCoy’s offense and has been putting together one of the best seasons of his decade-long career. Rivers had a near-flawless game against the Kansas City Chiefs' stingy defense last Sunday, passing for 392 yards and three touchdowns, thus cementing himself as one of the league’s top passers at this point in time. 

The Chargers have also found their offense outside of the pass, as they’ve finally gotten some production from running back Ryan Mathews. Mathews is on pace for one of his best seasons statistically, projected to rush for 1,048 yards and five touchdowns. 

They do have a couple of tough contests coming up against the Bengals and Denver Broncos, but their other three games are either against lesser teams or a team they’ve already beaten this season. 

Between their sharp offense and improving defense, the Chargers will be a tough team to play through the last month of the regular season.