In his 14 previous postseason games, Ravens starting wide receiver Derrick Mason has caught more than five balls only twice. Those are the only two times he has had 80 or more receiving yards in the playoffs.

His team lost both games.

Last Sunday, Mason and fellow starter Mark Clayton combined for two catches and 25 yards against the New England Patriots.

And the Ravens won in a rout, 33-14.

These facts aren't lost on Mason as his team prepares to face the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"I don't care if I don't catch a ball. I don't care about stats or anything else right now but winning football games," said Mason, who had seven touchdowns and 1,028 yards receiving this season. "Individual stats don't matter in the playoffs. What if we run the ball 60 times and Mark and myself catch one ball? I am good with winning. That's all that matters."

The Ravens were victorious in their last two games by rushing the ball 87 times and throwing it just 29. In those contests, which include a 21-13 win over Oakland in the regular-season finale, Mason and Clayton combined to catch four passes for 55 yards.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn't reveal this week whether he thought his wide receivers needed to be more active to secure a win in Indianapolis.

"We have no expectations," he said. "We're going to do whatever we think we need to do to win the game."

But surely having Mason, the leader of the wide receiver corps and a 13-year veteran, heavily involved in the action is a key to the team's success.

"I don't know how important it is. We'll know when the game starts how important it is," Harbaugh said. "If Derrick Mason is making plays for us, then plays are being made. ... The key is that our offense is finding a way to make plays, and Derrick is as good of a prospect as anybody because he has made a few of them in his career."

With Peyton Manning behind center for the Colts, it's possible the game could turn into a shootout. And that likely means Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and his receivers need to be more than spectators against a quick Colts secondary.

"We are going to have to be huge. We are going to have to make some plays on the outside. We know that," Clayton said. "We can run the ball, but knowing [the Colts' defenders] and the speed they have, it is going to be a tough task. And so we know we are going to have to make plays outside the run."

The Colts have beaten the Ravens seven straight times. And they have been even more dominant against Mason's teams.

Counting his eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Mason is 3-9 all-time against the Colts, scoring just one touchdown. His teams have lost nine straight to the Colts, with the last win coming Dec. 8, 2002, when he was with the Titans.

That streak includes earlier this season when he had his best performance of the year -- nine catches for 142 yards -- in a 17-15 loss to the Colts at M&T; Bank Stadium.

It gives Mason all the more reason to want to be part of a win Saturday.

"This is fun. Getting an opportunity to face a team that we played earlier in the season and lost to and to get an opportunity to play them in their place. That is always very exciting," he said. "We have to go in as a family and leave as a family."

The game also may have added significance for Mason, who temporarily retired last offseason before re-joining the Ravens. Earlier this week, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said Mason told him he wouldn't complain about not getting the ball in the playoffs because Mason believes it's more important for him to "leave here a winner."

However, Mason, who turns 36 on Sunday, said he still hasn't made up his mind as to whether this season is his final one.

"I'll reevaluate after the season and see where I am at physically and mentally and go from there," he said. "I am not interested in anything right now professionally but winning football games."

Mason's potential retirement is definitely something that has been talked about within the Ravens' locker room.

"Oh yeah. I told him at the end of the year, if he goes, I'll go too," Clayton joked. "I am going to retire."

Clayton said he and the rest of the Ravens' wide receivers consider Mason a mentor. They don't want to see him walk away, but if it happens, they'd like to send him out the right way.

Mason has been to three AFC championship games in his career and one Super Bowl, when his Titans lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams on Jan. 30, 2000.

This could be his last chance at a Super Bowl title.

"He doesn't have a ring," Clayton said. "And so that would be awesome."