For the first time in nearly four months, veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders does not have to get ready this week to play a football game.

Sanders this season became the ninth player in NFL history to appear in 17 regular-season games. The 49ers had their bye in Week 4. General manager John Lynch acquired Sanders in a trade with the Denver Broncos in Week 8, two weeks before the Broncos’ bye.

He got his bye week when the 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 26-21, on Sunday night to clinch the NFC West, homefield advantage in the playoffs and a first-round bye. The 49ers open the playoffs in the divisional round on Saturday, Jan. 11.

“God is good,” Sanders said in the 49ers’ victorious locker room Sunday night. “I need it.”

The 49ers’ offense certainly needed Sanders, a 10-year NFL veteran who stepped seamlessly into the team’s locker room to become a leader among the wide receivers. Sanders rarely comes off the field, as he and rookie Deebo Samuel have taken over to play nearly all of the team’s snaps.

On the season, Sanders has 66 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns. In his 10 games with 49ers, he had 36 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns. Sanders became the only player in league history to catch a pass in 17 games of a season.

Jerry Rice played in 17 games in his final NFL season of 2004 with the Raiders and Seattle Seahawks, but he went five games without a catch. On Sept. 19 of that season, his streak was snapped at 274 consecutive games with a reception.

Sanders welcomed the change of scenery this season because of the hopes that his season would extend far beyond the regular season.

He was on the Broncos’ winning team in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium against the Carolina Panthers. With two more victories, the 49ers will send Sanders to his third Super Bowl appearance.

“They were already 7-0 before I got here, so I knew it was a good team,” Sanders said of the 49ers. “Being part of two Super Bowl teams, one loss and one win, I know what the DNA looks like. I know what the chemistry looks like, and I knew they had it over here, from the head coach to the GM, to the quarterback to the players, the special-teams players, the role players, everything, from depth and everything."

Sanders, 32, is the veteran of the bunch, but he has felt energized to join an eager group of receivers that include Samuel and the always-dancing Kendrick Bourne. Sanders outfitted his fellow receivers with personalized Versace robes for the trip to Seattle.

So what does veteran wideout Emmanuel Sanders gift the rest of the 49ers receivers for Christmas?



Custom Versace robes of course. pic.twitter.com/NKrCk6tY13 — Keiana Martin (@KeianaMartinTV) December 27, 2019

Sanders said he wanted to be genuine upon arriving with the 49ers, and wanted his presence and role in the locker room to take shape organically.

“I’m going to be myself,” he said. “I’m going to be me. If it clicks, it clicks. It ended up clicking. It feels good. It feels really good.”

Sanders’ arrival was a great in-season development for Samuel, whom the 49ers selected in the second round of the 2019 draft. The 49ers did not have a reliable, veteran receiver to lead the way before Sanders got to the team.

“He’s a baller. He was already a baller before I got here,” Sanders said of Samuel. “That guy, with the ball in his hands is explosive. He’s explosive. I enjoy playing with him.

“I enjoy letting him know what is to come because I’ve been in this league 10 years. I don’t know if he listens or not, but I have a feeling he does. If I see something, I try to tell him exactly what’s going to happen in that situation because I’ve been around a long time.”

In six games before Sanders came to the 49ers, Samuel averaged three catches and 33 yards per game. After Sanders showed up, the rookie averaged four catches and 67 yards receiving. He also has contributed 159 yards and three touchdowns rushing. Samuel came up big in the 49ers' win Sunday at Seattle.

“He’s a special player,” Sanders said. “The ceiling is very high for him. I look forward to seeing him continuously turn into a dangerous player in this league because he’s already dangerous.”

[RELATED: Samuel emotional on sideline but cold-blooded on field]

Samuel had three games with 100 or more receiving yards, most for a rookie in franchise history. He became the first receiver with three rushing touchdowns in franchise history.

Samuel's 57 receptions were second-most for a 49ers rookie behind Earl Cooper (83 in 1980), and his 802 receiving yards were second-most for a 49ers rookie behind Rice (927 in 1985).