They hugged and shared private comments on the field, minutes after the game ended.
They met in the empty visitors locker room a little more than an hour later -- Lewis in a grey three-piece suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses; Manning in a darker jacket and slacks, standing a few inches taller than his rival.
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They talked about an epic of a football game that served as a goodbye -- but Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, and not Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, will play next week.
Despite the Ravens being heavy underdogs and surrendering two touchdowns on special-teams plays in a wild game, Lewis' 17-year career isn't over yet. The Ravens, helped by Manning's interception (his second of the game), beat the Broncos 38-35 in the second overtime in an AFC divisional playoff game Saturday night to advance to the conference championship game against the winner of Sunday's game between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots.
It was a crazy contest that featured lead changes and improbable touchdowns, but in the end, the Ravens prevailed with Justin Tucker's 47-yard game-winning field goal.
Lewis, who announced he is retiring at the end of the season, will play at least one more game.
"God is amazing," Lewis said. "When you look back at it and let the emotions calm down, it will probably be one of the greatest victories in Ravens history."
As players filed to the team bus, Lewis stayed behind to share some private remarks with Manning, who before the game said he would save his personal thoughts on Lewis' pending retirement for Lewis.
"I've addressed it every time I've played against him. He's an excellent player," Manning said at the time. "He's special. That's all you can say."
The victory was Lewis' first in 10 games against Manning. And while Manning's postgame remarks concentrated on the great disappointment of a season that ended on the heels of 11 victories in a row, Lewis spoke of the many great battles between his and Manning's teams during the quarterback's time with the Indianapolis Colts. Twice before Saturday's classic, Manning and the Colts denies Baltimore in the playoffs.
"The wars, that's why you do it," Lewis said. "When you finally sit down, the only thing you remember is the great wars that you actually went against some of the greatest of all time. That man right there has the ultimate respect because he is, in my book, probably the greatest of all time."
If not for the Ravens connecting on an unpredictable 70-yard touchdown pass to force overtime against the Broncos, Lewis might be headed for the next stage of his life today. The Ravens forced overtime on a pass from Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones with 31 seconds left in regulation, after Jones slipped behind a pair of Broncos defenders.
"Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. (Flacco) grew up today," Lewis said. "He grew up today and in the tunnel I told him, 'You're the general now. Lead us to a victory. You lead us today. I'm just here to facilitate things.'
"And to look in his eyes, he has something different about him today, and I just wanted to encourage him. To watch what he did today is probably one of the greatest things I'll always sit back and remember."
Late in the first overtime, Manning threw across his body on second down, and Corey Graham picked off the ball to give the Ravens the ball on the Denver 45. Two plays later, the first overtime ended and the teams switched directions, and after three Ray Rice runs up the middle, Tucker capped the upset.
"We wanted to get this win for Ray and I was going to do everything I could possibly do to get this win," Graham said.
Added Tuker: "I don't think anybody had a doubt in their mind. Ray Lewis just said it a minute ago. We were down at one point. Nobody wavered – not a single man on that sideline -- player, coach, staff member. We were all confident in each other."
Lewis had a team-high 15 tackles in his second week back in action after tearing his triceps in October. His speedy recovery, a marvel in itself, sparked Baltimore to a wild-card victory against the Indianapolis Colts before tripping to Denver.
On Saturday, the Ravens allowed the most points in franchise postseason history, though Lewis wasn't on the field when the Broncos' Trindon Holliday ripped off 90- and 104-yard returns for touchdowns.
But those two TDs weren't enough, and the Ravens and Lewis have but one more win between them and a Super Bowl.
"I've never been a part of a game so crazy in my life," Lewis said. "Our team is so confident and everything went against us, but we found a way to come here together and we're leaving together. It's just awesome. One thing about the playoffs -- the only way to top it is to win the following week."
He said he spoke to the team last week about the doubters.
"What if we do the impossible?" Lewis recalled saying.
"For us to come in here and win, nine- to 10-point underdogs, that's the beautiful part about sports," Lewis said. "That's the thing that, if I miss anything about my career, it will be to listen to what people say you can't do and then to go do it."
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