SANTA CLARA -- Richard Sherman has played tons of January football, with a Super Bowl ring and postseason pelts to show for it. The veteran cornerback isn’t the only 49er with such extensive playoff experience, but his presence looms large as Saturday’s divisional-round clash with the Minnesota Vikings approaches.

Sherman understands that and welcomes the responsibility. His message to teammates young and old remains the same: Don’t get distracted by one significant difference between this week and those before it, which was illustrated perfectly in one rapid-fire series of questions aimed at Sherman on Wednesday afternoon.

“What is different for you come playoff time? Does the intensity go up? How would you describe it?”

You could put that sequence on a loop, because every 49er to hit a podium this week as been asked some version of it. The inquiries vary slightly based on the spot-lit player’s playoff experience, but it’s otherwise exactly the same.

Hey, Nick Bosa … Hey, Jimmy Garoppolo … Hey, DeForest Buckner … Hey, Richard Sherman … Hey, Fred Warner …

“What is different for you come playoff time? Does the intensity go up? How would you describe it?”

It’s enough to drive the mild-mannered mad.

Do you really want to know what's different come playoff time? Sherman has you covered.

“More people asking you questions about things that you already answered questions about. That's about it for us,” Sherman said Wednesday. “At the end of the day, the game is the same. You go out there, you play hard, you execute. If you execute well enough, you win. If you don't, you go home.”

And, that’s it. That’s the message he’s trying to send to the 49ers’ young impact players. The field’s the same size. The football’s the same shape. Goal lines are 100 yards apart. Just go play.

Don’t magnify Saturday’s game in your mind. Don’t let the pulse quicken. Stick to the basics, focus on details and execute, execute, execute.

“He's the exact same guy,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said just days before his first playoff game. “’Sherm’ has been really doing a good job with emphasizing, making sure everybody knows the details. We’ve got to stay on the details because it's the little things that will get you beat, especially at this time of the year. He's a former Super Bowl champ. He's been really just reiterating all the little things we need to stay up on, really taking care of our bodies.”

Sherman never stops reminding teammates to stay in the moment. He’s a talker by nature who sets a proper example, with the Hall-of-Fame résumé to validate his advice.

When he speaks, 49ers on both sides of the ball listen intently.

“He talks to guys all the time,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “It could just be from walking from the locker room to the cafeteria. He's giving tips. ‘Hey, we are going to have this in practice. You need to do this.’ He talks the entire day. He does a great job of that.

"He's had the experience. We have guys with experience. Everyone that's done the playoffs, they've played in the big games, they definitely have shared their thoughts on it. At the same time, we've been playing good football all year. I think we're just going to go out there and do what we've been doing all year.”

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There isn’t much tension in the 49ers' locker room these days. Confidence from a 13-3 campaign has kept things loose despite the high-stakes game ahead.

The younger players, in particular, are having a blast, thrilled to be playing into the new year. Veterans feed off that, encouraging a balance between relaxing and focus on the game plan.

“It's going to be a great, great time,” Sherman said. “Those guys are going to go out there, have a good time, execute like they know how. But at the end of the day, we leave the storylines and the pageantry to the media and the fans. You go out there and execute, you win. You don't execute, you go home.”