Sports

Lewis, Ravens gird for Broncos

The signs were everywhere inside the inner sanctum of the winner’s locker room during the aftermath of Ray Lewis’ final home game Sunday in Baltimore, the place where he has honed his Hall of Fame skills as a linebacker and leader over the past 17 seasons.

Yes, the Ravens were soaking in the glorious final four hours of Lewis’ NFL career at M&T Bank Stadium, but there was a more urgent matter at hand.

And that was not lost on Lewis, despite basking in his role as the man of the moment.

The sweat on Lewis’ forehead from a hard day’s work — including a game-high 13 tackles in the Ravens’ 24-9 wild-card playoff win over the Colts — had not yet dried when the tenacious linebacker barked out a request to a team employee as he handed over his iPad.

“I need to download Denver now,’’ Lewis said, referring to the game tape of the 13-3 Broncos, whom the Ravens face in the AFC divisional playoff Saturday at Invesco Field at Mile High. “I need to start watching them.’’

The last time the two teams met was a mere three weeks ago in Baltimore, a 34-17 Broncos rout in a game that snowballed out of control for the Ravens, who enter this week as a nine-point underdog.

“I’ve already turned my iPad in to get Denver film,’’ Lewis said. “It’s on to the next one. We knew who we have next week. Denver is going to be well-rested. We saw them earlier in the year, but now we get them again with all of our guys back.’’

One of those guys who’s back for the Ravens is Lewis, who last week announced his intention to retire after this season. Lewis, who missed the last game against the Broncos with a torn triceps, is again facing the prospect of this game being the last of his career.

That has become a powerful rallying cry for Lewis’ teammates, who seem determined not to let his career end with anything less than a Super Bowl appearance.

And, because of the beating they gave to Baltimore last month, the Broncos are exactly the hurdle the Ravens wanted en route to reaching the Super Bowl.

“I was hoping we’d get Denver; we’re really looking forward to this,’’ Ravens receiver Anquan Boldin said. “They’ll see us next week. We’ll make it different.’’

Said Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata: “We kind of want to show them that we can play better than we did last time.’’

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco: “We just didn’t feel like we played up to par the last time we played them.”

Ravens running back Bernard Pierce: “We beat ourselves last game. We just didn’t play an all-out complete game. This week, I think it’s going to be a little different.”

Ravens safety Ed Reed: “We were not a team that day at all. This is the playoffs. We know what we got. They know what we got. We’re going down there with all of our weapons and all of our tools. And we’re coming to bang.”

The Ravens enter the divisional playoff round with more than the Broncos to overcome. There are demons from recent playoff runs cut short that must be dealt with.

A year ago against the Patriots in Foxborough, the Ravens had a chance to win and advance to the Super Bowl when receiver Lee Evans dropped a Flacco pass in the end zone in the final seconds.

Moments later, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal that would have sent the game into overtime.

So here the Ravens are again, one year later, facing the hottest team in the AFC on the road on a short week of preparation.

“I like the fact that our team has been here before,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We’ve made this six-day turnaround road trip three other times. So, we know how to do that.”

“We all have a goal in mind,’’ Boldin said. “I came to Baltimore to win a championship.’’

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com