ALAMEDA, Calif. — Better than ever?

Well maybe not better than ever, but safety Charles Woodson at age 38 is probably as good as he has been since winning the NFL defensive player of the year award in 2009.

For his performance in a 24-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, Woodson was named the AFC defensive player of the week for a game that included nine tackles (six solo) and three for losses – including his 20th career sack.

Woodson is the first player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to have 20 sacks and 50 career interceptions.

When Raiders coach Tony Sparano was asked if he thought Woodson could play into his 40s, he thought about it for a moment then said no, he wouldn’t be surprised.

The notion brought a chuckle out of Woodson.

“The funny thing is I never thought about getting to 17 (years), so I’m not thinking about going into the 40s,” Woodson said. “I feel great, and why it is I have no clue. But I do. So I’ll play out this season and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Woodson has two interceptions and leads the Raiders with 116 tackles. Signed to a one-year contract for $4.3 million in salary and bonus money, Woodson will be a free agent again.

Asked if he planned on playing in 2015 if he felt as good as he does now, Woodson said, “No question.”

And perhaps surprisingly, given the team’s 1-10 record, Woodson would like it to be with the Raiders. Before signing with Oakland for the 2013 season, Woodson visited Denver and also received a contract offer.

“Coming into this season I had all the confidence in the world we would be a much better team than we are,” Woodson said. “If I do decide to play again, and it’s here, I’m going to have that same confidence … I think the draft class they had this year was a great draft class.

“You add to that, bring in a few more people via free agency and who knows what can happen? The team we played Thursday night, they were looking at 0-16 a couple of years ago and the last couple of years they’ve been in the playoff hunt.”

Rookie quarterback Derek Carr has leaned heavily on Woodson’s counsel.

“He gives me advice every time I ask,” Carr said. “Sometimes he’ll come up randomly and talk to me for a second, telling me what I need to do and I think, OK, it’s Charles Woodson. Sometimes it hurts. But I’ll do whatever is going to help me get better and be great.”

Rams second-year safety T.J. McDonald is the son of Tim McDonald, the former 49ers star who retired in 1999 – which was Woodson’s second season with the Raiders.

“It’s incredible. He was one of my favorite defensive backs growing up,” McDonald said. “To see him playing at the level he is playing is great. To be able to change teams after being in one defense so long, is amazing. It speaks a lot to his work ethic and the things he does to keep playing for so long.”

SERIES HISTORY: 13th meeting, Raiders lead series 8-4 and have won four of the past six. In the last meeting, Darren McFadden rushed for 145 yards on 30 carries as the Raiders won 16-14 on Sept. 19, 2010. In last game in St. Louis, Marshall Faulk rushed 26 times for 158 yards and Marc Bulger won his Rams’ debut in a 28-13 win on Oct. 13, 2010. The Raiders came in to that game 4-0.

NOTES: With TJ Carrie playing slot corner two games ago with an ankle injury against San Diego and then sitting out against Kansas City, the return duties fell to Latavius Murray on kickoffs and Denarius Moore on punts.

When Moore muffed a punt that the Chiefs converted into a field goal, Charles Woodson went back as the deep safety and had one return for five yards. Ideally, Sparano hopes to return Carrie to active duty on both specialties.

— RB Latavius Murray (concussion) has another test to take before being cleared to play after sustaining a concussion against Kansas City.

— G Gabe Jackson was limited in practice with a knee injury and hopes to play after missing the last three games.

— TE David Ausberry was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.

— DT Ricky Lumpkin was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.