Stanford Legends Show Out For Rams, 49ers as NFL Playoffs Near

With only a few weeks left in the regular season, the race for playoff positioning is heating up, with multiple teams fighting for a chance to win the Super Bowl. In both conferences, things are starting to intensify as the final weeks of the regular season play out. But perhaps there is no race that is as fascinating as the one in the NFC West, where multiple Stanford legends are helping their respective teams stay alive.

Led by the Los Angeles Rams followed by the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, all three of those teams are in the running to win the division and secure the top spot in the conference. And in week 15, each team won thanks to some strong performances by former Stanford Cardinal stars.

In the Rams' 41-34 win over the Detroit Lions, despite losing wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams to injury, a big game from tight end Colby Parkinson propelled the Rams to victory and their 11th win of the campaign.

Catching five passes for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Parkinson continued his hot streak and proved to be very valuable once again to the flourishing Rams offense. On the season, Parkinson has 31 catches for 298 yards and six touchdowns, scoring three of his touchdowns the last two weeks.

For the 49ers in their 37-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, Stanford legend and current 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey continued his strong, resurgent campaign with another big week. Despite averaging only 3.3 yards per carry, McCaffrey had another high volume game, carrying the ball 22 times for 73 yards and a touchdown, also adding one catch for 14 yards.

Limited to only four games last season due to injury, McCaffrey has been healthy and a big part of the 49ers' offense once again this season. In 14 games this season, McCaffrey has 259 carries for 922 yards and nine touchdowns, while also accruing 86 catches for 820 yards and five touchdowns.

McCaffrey's big season of involvement in both the running and passing game has him in the conversation for Offensive Player of the Year. And despite his lower than normal yards per carry, he has still looked every bit like the Christian McCaffrey that everyone has grown accustomed to.

A win in week 16 will cement the 49ers a playoff spot and give McCaffrey another chance to win a Super Bowl.

At Stanford from 2017-19, Parkinson earned Second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2019 before being drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Seahawks. In total for the Cardinal, Parkinson caught 87 passes for 1,171 yards and 12 touchdowns, putting together his best season as a junior in 2019 when he caught 48 passes for 589 yards and one touchdown.

McCaffrey, the Heisman Trophy runner-up as a sophomore in 2015, is arguably Stanford's most iconic player of the 21st century.

Winning numerous accolades for his college career including AP College Football Player of the Year and the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2015 and being a consensus All-American that season as well, McCaffrey ended his college career with 632 carries for 3,922 yards and 21 touchdowns while catching 99 passes for 1,206 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In his best season in 2015, he ran for over 2,000 yards.