SANTA CLARA -- The Denver Broncos had a bye scheduled for Week 10, shortly after the regular season’s halfway point. That’s a perfect time for it, with an opportunity to relieve stress after nine games work and a shorter drive down the home stretch.

Emmanuel Sanders was two weeks from respite when he was traded to the 49ers. Going from a struggling franchise to a team with a similar offensive system that hadn’t yet lost was ideal. That San Francisco already went through its bye, however, was not.

That meant Sanders was scheduled for 17 straight games, a trial he weathered despite battling through an injury to his ribs. Playing one extra game, he initially thought, wouldn’t be a big deal.

He thought wrong, an admission the 32-year old receiver only realized last week when he finally got to relax. The 49ers earned the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed and a first-round bye heading into Saturday’s divisional round contest against the Minnesota Vikings at Levi’s Stadium. Turns out Sanders needed it pretty bad.

“It meant a lot, a lot more than I thought,” Sanders said Tuesday. “It played a big factor in how I feel today. If you would’ve asked me two weeks ago what’s going with my body, my ankle was sore. My big toe was sore. It was a little of everything. Now I have had a little bye and an opportunity to get a break.

“I was just jogging through stuff last week and now my body feels ready to go. It was definitely tough.”

All work and no break might have slowed him down near year’s end. Sanders production waned a bit down the stretch, with fewer than 100 yards combined in the season’s final three games.

Sanders now feels fresh and ready to go on a playoff run and continue making a profound impact on his new team.

“It starts with him being a pro,” 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “That has a trickle-down effect on the other receivers and skill guys. That isn’t always seen, but his impact on the locker room and on the field certainly is. He adds a little bit of everything to what we do.”

[RELATED: 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan explains why he became big Kirk Cousins fan]

Sanders would prefer to do it for 16 regular-season games a year, not 17. The NFL has been kicking around adding a game to the slate, and Sanders would like to be polled on such a proposal, even after last week’s bye put him in a good mood.

“They should ask me, so I can say ‘No,’” Sanders said. “My body was hur-ting. I needed that break.”