Each week Father Time comes knocking on Charles Woodson's front door, but each week the future Hall-of-Famer tells him to come back later; he has more football to play.
And he told him the same thing Sunday, adding yet another feather to his future Hall-of-Fame cap – which is saying something considering he has accomplished nearly everything conceivable in the game of football.
And this particular feather was one that had eluded the Heisman Trophy winner for nearly two decades.
When the day began, Woodson had 62 career interceptions, a figure that only 10 players in NFL history had eclipsed, but none had come from the arm of Peyton Manning.
Earlier in the week, Woodson joked that Manning had found a way to elude him for 18 years, but Woodson finally caught The Sheriff, picking him off not once, but twice in the Raiders 16-10 loss Sunday in Oakland.
However, after the game, Woodson had little desire to talk about his impressive performance, instead keeping the focus on Sunday's result.
"Really don't even want to talk about the interceptions, because of the fact that we did lose the game," said Woodson. "It was all about winning the game, and that was a big deal all week about that aspect of it, but it's never about that. Those things are shiny things, shiny toys that you like, but it's about wins and losses."
Just four days clear of his 39th birthday, in many senses, Woodson doesn't look or play like a man who's nearly twice the age of the youngest Raider, as he roams the secondary and is seemingly immune to the effects of Father Time.
"Man, Wood is Wood. He's 39-years old, but he's playing like he's 21," safety Larry Asante said postgame. "He's just a special player. Hats off to him, man, at the age of 39 to be able to go out there and perform like that, there's nothing like it. Only he can do that."
After Sunday's performance, Woodson now has 64 career interceptions, which vaults him into a tie with Ed Reed for sixth all-time.
"He calls out plays before they even happen," Asante added. "With his knowledge of the game and anticipating what the offense is getting ready to do, that's what puts him in position to get to the ball like that. He's great at reading the quarterback. He's great at pattern reads, reading the routes that the receivers are going to run and he's always in the right position to get the ball."
You can credit an intimate knowledge of the game and God-given ability all you'd like, but at the end of the day, many people still pose the question:
How is it possible that at 39 years of age, Woodson is still playing at this type of high level?
"Unbelievable what he's doing," Head Coach Jack Del Rio said. "Just to be playing alone at 39 years old is incredible. But to be such a productive player and making big plays in the game… I'm really proud of the effort that we're getting from guys."
"It's not crazy to me because he's Charles Woodson. He's one of the greatest to ever play," added defensive end Khalil Mack. "When you have a great player like that, you see that outcome. When the ball is in his court he knows what you're going to do."
While Woodson has seemingly located the Fountain of Youth, the man is still 39, evidenced if only by the sporadic gray hairs in his otherwise black goatee.
Woodson is admittedly banged up, joking with the media that he's never looked forward to a bye week more in his career.
"I just have a few things going on," Woodson said. "It's been a rough couple of weeks."
However, regardless of the situation, his health or any number of other variables, Woodson leads the team with 4 interceptions and has come up big in the biggest moments for a predominantly inexperienced Raiders defense.
"All I can say is that he's the G.O.A.T. [Greatest of All-Time], man, one of the greatest to ever do it," Asante said. "He's just a great player."
As they say, Father Time is undefeated, but even if just for another Sunday, Charles Woodson slammed the door in his face and went about his business, padding the stats of one of the most impressive careers in NFL history.
