Veteran receiver Emmanuel Sanders helps inexperienced 49ers

san francisco - Saturday's divisional playoff game against the Vikings marks 49ers receiver Emmanuel Sanders' first postseason appearance since Feb. 7, 2016. That also happened at Levi's Stadium, in a modest little event known as the Super Bowl.

Sanders sparkled for Denver during its championship run after the 2015 season, culminating in a 24-10 victory over Carolina in Santa Clara. He caught six passes for 83 yards in quarterback Peyton Manning's triumphant farewell to football.

Now, nearly four years later, Sanders returns to the postseason stage feeling good. The bye week gave him much-needed recovery time. He has been nursing several nagging injuries, most notably cartilage damage to his ribs from the Nov. 11 game against Seattle.

Sanders didn't miss any games down the stretch, as the 49ers earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. That doesn't mean he wasn't hurting.

"The bye meant a lot more than I thought it would in how I feel today," Sanders said. "If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I was like, 'What's going on with my body?' Certain things were just aching. My ankles were sore, my big toe was sore, just everything.

"Now here I am, after an opportunity to get a break ... now my body feels good and ready to go. It was definitely tough. I saw a lot of things on Twitter saying the NFL wants to change the season to 17 games. They should ask me and I say, 'No.' "

Sanders, who turns 33 in March, naturally has accumulated plenty of wear and tear during his 10-year pro career. He also brings abundant playoff experience, a precious commodity on this young 49ers team.

"We have a lot of guys who haven't played in a playoff game, so it'll be good to share that stuff," quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said.

Garoppolo is one of those players with no postseason experience, though he did spend three-plus seasons with the Patriots, watching Tom Brady from the sideline.

Sanders' advice to his semi-green teammates? Relax and don't force the issue.

"I can say, 'OK, this is the time for us to lock in,' but I feel like we've been locked in all season, ever since I got here," said Sanders, who arrived Oct. 22 in a trade with the Broncos. "So when I talk about playoff experience, I say, 'Don't do too much.' A lot of people get in the playoffs and feel like they've got to do more.

"But you've already been winning games, so remain who you are."