5 Non-Playoff NFL Teams That Will Play Spoiler in the 2nd Half

When teams start off extremely poor, it's hard to get motivated for games week in and week out. 

However, there are a handful of non-playoff teams who stay focused year round and try to play spoiler. Sometimes it's their gutsy effort that prevents a team from making the playoffs. Baseball fans saw this happen in September when the last-place Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox to eliminate them from playoff contention.

There are some teams that have bad records this year but have played well. There are others who started off very badly but are slowly turning things around.

Here are five teams that will play spoiler this year in the second half. 

St. Louis Rams

It was a magical week this week in St. Louis. The Cardinals completed their unexpected run to their 11th World Series title and the Rams pulled off one of the most shocking upsets in team history.

The Rams, coming into the game, only averaged nine points per game offensively. Drew Brees and the Saints on the other hand averaged 34 points per game and have the best offense in the league. The Rams' franchise quarterback Sam Bradford was also out due to injury.

That's why they play the game, folks.

The Rams pulled off a stunning upset and blew the Saints out of Edward Jones, sending them back to New Orleans with their heads down.

Sam Bradford started working out today and he will soon return to the lineup. This victory over the Saints will undoubtedly give the Rams some more confidence and when they get Bradford back they may pull off a string of consecutive victories because of their weak schedule.

If they can start a short winning streak and increase their confidence, they may play spoiler against division-rival San Francisco, who will most likely be fighting for a bye week late in the season. The Rams still have two more games against the surprising 49ers and another doozy at Pittsburgh against the Steelers.

Don't be surprised if the Rams win one or more of these games and knock the Steelers off the throne in the AFC North or take away a playoff bye week from the Niners. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

As poorly as Blaine Gabbert has played this season for the Jaguars and as flustered as he's looked on the field, the Jags as a team have been playing better as of late.

After an ugly Monday Night Football victory against Baltimore and a solid performance in a loss at Pittsburgh, the Jaguars showed that they can give some of the best in the league a hard time with their deadly running attack and stingy defense. 

Other than two blips against the Jets and Bengals, the Jaguars haven't allowed more than 24 points in a game. As their defense comes together and improves as the season progresses, they'll have plenty of opportunities to be a pest for playoff contenders.

They still have home games against the Texans, Chargers and Bucs. They also have road tilts at Atlanta and Tennessee. 

If Gabbert's play improves in the second half, don't be surprised if the Jaguars win some of these games convincingly. 

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers may be the biggest spoiler of them all for one reason only: Cam Newton.

Don't look at the Panthers 2-6 record. They've been competitive all season. Despite having a tough schedule playing the Packers, Bears, Saints, and Falcons, they've played close in most of those games. They've only lost by a margin greater than ten points once.

Cam Newton is the big reason for this. He's playing like a veteran in his rookie season. He still has plenty of room to improve before we consider him a top ten quarterback, but it's inevitable. Newton is going to be a top ten quarterback in this league one day.

He has the arm, quickness, field vision, mobility, maturity, and leadership presence to get it done. He makes some plays on the field that one would think only a guy like Ben Roethilsberger would be able to make. 

Let's not forget that he's working with an extremely thin and limited team in Carolina. His prime target is Steve Smith, who Newton has rejuvenated. Smith is now having his best season since 2008 and is on pace for shattering his career high in receiving yards.

The Panthers still have plenty of meaningful games left. They have four games combined against their NFC South rivals. As the games get packed with pressure in the season, don't be surprised if Newton and the Panthers play as spoiler and knock one of those three other NFC South teams out of the playoffs. 

They also have games against the Titans and Texans who will be battling it out in the AFC South until the very end and a game against the Lions who will probably be fighting for a wild card spot. 

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have came very close to getting their first win the last two weeks. The fourth quarter has not been kind for them as they've blown consecutive leads to the Broncos and Giants and lost. 

That being said, all it takes for a team like the Dolphins is one win and they can have the confidence to win a few more. 

The Dolphins' back end of the schedule is filled with teams who will be competing for the playoffs. The have games against Buffalo, at Dallas, Oakland, Philadelphia, at Buffalo, at New England and the Jets. Even if the Dolphins win a third of these games, they will be taking precious win opportunities from teams that need them in the tough NFL.

Some teams may treat the Dolphins as an inferior opponent but the truth is their defense is actually not bad. Since Week 1, the Dolphins haven't allowed more than 26 points. Losing Chad Henne for the rest of the season has hurt the Dolphins. Their offense has been anemic. Reggie Bush has yet to score a touchdown but he ran for over a 100 yards last week. 

Hopefully that is a sign of things to come for the Dolphins. They seem like they're headed to win the Suck for Luck sweepstakes but their defense is going to help them win a few games against a team like Buffalo who will be needing wins late. 

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikes may be 2-5 but they have a new quarterback and new hope. 

Christian Ponder is showing everyone that the Vikings didn't make a mistake drafting him so early. The Florida State quarterback has improved every week and finally picked up his first win last week against Carolina.

The Vikings can play spoiler still. They have game against the Raiders, Falcons, Lions, Saints and Bears. 

With the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson and a young, competent quarterback, the Vikings will be able to win a few games against playoff contenders.

It's interesting to think about how many wins the Vikings could have right now if they had started Ponder immediately instead of Donovan McNabb. They blew three big games early in the season after having first-half leads that could've gone the other way if Peterson had ran the ball more and McNabb hadn't been so inconsistent.