SANTA CLARA – For as much as the 49ers have been able to do during this improbable NFL playoff run, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne believes that Saturday’s game against the Seahawks in Seattle will come down to a simple reason.
Attitude.
Not San Francisco playing on a short week again. Not play-calling or schemes. Not even talent.
Just attitude.
“It’s just playing hard: who plays harder, who wants it more, who wants to go to the NFC Championship,” Bourne said Tuesday. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s not rocket science. Short week, yeah, but we’ve faced adversity a lot this year. We can walk around talking about that all day, but we know what’s on the line.”
That, Bourne said, is infinitely more critical when facing a team for the second time in three weeks and the third time overall this season.
The NFC West rivals are quite familiar with one another and with what each team likes to do on either side of the ball.
San Francisco won the first game between the two teams in Week 1, before Seattle rolled into town for the regular-season finale and left with a convincing 13-3 win. The latter outcome ended the 49ers’ six-game winning streak and vaulted the Seahawks into the NFC’s top seed.
Clearly, both teams made multiple changes in between their first and second showdowns this season — certainly not surprising given the near four-month gap between the games.
With a much quicker turnaround this time, any changes made will most likely be subtle.
San Francisco’s veteran receiver also said that the postseason clash between the two division rivals was destiny.
“It’s kind of like it was already written,” Bourne said. “For us to go to Philly and get a win and see (the Seahawks again) … we don’t know what’s going to happen, but you know teams are good. Anybody can win. To be matched up against them again, division (playoff) game in their building, is what you live for.”
The 49ers still will be short-handed in this game. Linebacker Fred Warner has been cleared to begin his comeback but won’t play in Seattle. Left tackle Trent Williams is nursing a sore hamstring but should be good to go.
Whoever plays for San Francisco, Bourne said the 49ers are eager to get rolling.
“There’s no fear, nothing,” he said. “We’ve got a team that wants this. We created this opportunity. People doubting us, the world saying we shouldn’t even have won that last game. This is what we live for.”
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