FATHER TIME

John Harbaugh does not generally go in for hyperbole or then-and-now comparisons, but in the aftermath of the Ravens’ 23-16 victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night he couldn’t help himself.

Terrell Suggs had just created a tremendous momentum shift with his second sack of the game late in the fourth quarter, stripping the ball from Houston quarterback Tom Savage and stopping a Texas foray into Ravens territory that could’ve led to a playoff-endangering home loss.

“He’s playing as well or better than I’ve seen him ever play since I’ve been there,’’ Harbaugh said.

And that’s saying quite a lot about a player who continues to carve out a place in Canton when many football players his age are several years into retirement.

Suggs is 35 years old. He is in his 15th season. He has come back from two Achilles tendon tears and a torn biceps over the past 51⁄ seasons, and he keeps doing what he has done since coming out of Arizona State as a unanimous AllAmerican in 2002.

His 91⁄ sacks this year lead the team, rank eighth in the league and put him just one sack out of the top five.

“He’s Ponce de León,” Harbaugh said. “You should put that on the back of his jersey. He has found the Fountain of Youth.”

Maybe not found it so much as wrestled it away from Father Time. His younger teammates look on in amazement at his work ethic and insist that while they marvel at what he can do at this point in his career, they are not surprised.

“It doesn’t [surprise us] because we see his work ethic throughout the week,” second-year defensive tackle Willie Henry said. “You guys see him play on Sunday, but