Ravens' Lewis enjoying the playoff ride

BALTIMORE -- The Super Bowl ring was the finishing touch to another one of Ray Lewis' dapper ensembles. But the ornate piece of jewelry was more than just a fashion statement or an incentive for his teammates.

Occasionally, NFL greats need to remind themselves of what's at stake.

"Sometimes I got to remind myself, too, what it's really about," the Baltimore linebacker said after the Ravens' 20-13 divisional playoff win over the Houston Texans Sunday. "Sometimes you go into games and you look at them and say, 'Oh, it's another playoff game,' but it's not. Bottom line is you win or go home . . . I know what that moment feels like. And to feel that moment again with this team can be a special thing."

At 36, Lewis shows no signs of slowing down. The 13-time Pro Bowl linebacker -- now in his 16th season -- had a team-high seven tackles, including one for a loss, and a pass defensed against the Texans. But while Ravens safety Ed Reed, 33, admits Father Time is on his mind, Lewis is having too much fun to call it quits.

"The thing that everybody out here has to appreciate is when great warriors fight until the end. Those are the stories you always remember," said Lewis, the Super Bowl XXXV MVP. " . . . I've never stopped. I joke about it with my kids: I can't stop working until whenever is whenever. And I don't know when that's going to be."

Lewis, the epitome of durability, had his 57-game streak of consecutive starts end in Week 11 this season because of a toe injury. But he showed Sunday that he's just as physical, just as intense and just as determined to see his Ravens make it to the Super Bowl again.

"He's a great player. He's Ray Lewis," coach John Harbaugh said. "He's our leader, and I'm sure glad he's on our side."

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Lewis laughed when asked if Sunday's game could be his last at M&T Bank Stadium as a Raven.

"Unless them skies spread and God himself comes down and tells me," he answered with a smile. "Football is too fun for me, man. I love it. I love it too much to ever even put that thought in my head.

" . . . When you're having the fun that I'm having and you're playing at the level I'm playing at, do it until you can't do it no more."