The Magpies didn't win a game from rounds 16 to 18, and were on the brink of toppling out of the eight following their 54-point loss to Hawthorn.
But Pendlebury, 20, thinks the brush with the bottom eight was the catalyst for the return of the Pies' intensity-driven form.
"I think we're just all just working a lot harder," Pendlebury told collingwoodfc.com.au, after their 45-point win over the Sydney Swans.
"We were just waiting for things to happen and waiting for finals and we thought we were going to make it, and then we got a bit of a rude awakening.
"Since then, we're starting to make things happen. We're a pretty even side, and everyone is contributing as well."
He also said the commanding way the Pies dispatched of the Swans on Saturday night would go a long way to ensuring they had confidence heading into the final games.
"No side wants to make up numbers in the eight, and we're in the eight now and hopefully we can go over to Freo next week and get another win," he said.
"Then, we'll roll into finals with three on the trot and have a bit of momentum."
As the youngest member of the Magpies' five-man leadership group, Pendlebury has been forced to deal with a new form of pressure this year in assisting in disciplining his peers.
"I'm still pretty young so I just sort of sat back and observed how the older guys handled different situations throughout the year," he said.
"It's a good learning curve, and I've got pretty good leaders to look up to, which has been helping."
Most recently, Pendlebury was part of the group that was involved in coming up with suspensions handed down to Alan Didak and Heath and Rhyce Shaw, who are all older than him.
The young midfielder said it wasn't daunting to face his more experienced teammates and issue the punishments, as the players were respectful of the leadership group they'd appointed.
"All the group would be pretty happy with whatever the leadership group comes up with," he said.
"We were voted by our peers and we've got the power, and the group knew we had the power by electing us.
"Everyone is really great and it's a fantastic bunch of blokes, and it's been great."
