"It took Ray Lewis a long time to put his suit on after the AFC championship was over on Sunday. He got dressed in silence, he made sure his tie was straight and his jacket wasn't wrinkled. Then, he stood in the eye of a small media storm, smiled into the cameras, and put to bed questions about his future.

"Is this my last game as a Raven? Absolutely not," Lewis said. "Let me answer that question before somebody asks it."

Lewis wanted to quash any talk of retirement right away, especially since the topic has been a popular one in recent weeks and months. The 16th year of his NFL career hasn't been a particularly smooth ride. He missed four games in the middle of the season with a toe injury, and had to answer questions locally and nationally about whether he'd lost a step and needed to come out of the game on passing plays. But Lewis played pretty good football in the stretch run, including a 12-tackle performance against the Patriots. He said he still loves the game too much to walk away, and then said he believed it wasn't in God's plans for the Ravens to win this year."