OAKLAND — Charles Woodson is definitely still good enough, but the Raiders aren’t, and it’s a little odd to watch this dynamic play out these days.

Yes, a few days after his 39th birthday, Woodson saved the Raiders a few more times on Sunday.

And, yes, once again the Raiders couldn’t figure out how to stay saved.

Some day, at some point, maybe decades or centuries from now, Woodson won’t be around as the last best line of Raiders defense.

But he’s still out there at safety, still maybe the Raiders’ most crucial defensive player.

And on Sunday, Woodson intercepted Peyton Manning for the first time in their long careers to cut off a possible Broncos touchdown drive at the end of the first half.

Then, in the third quarter, Woodson intercepted Manning again.

But Woodson watched the Raiders lose to Denver at the Coliseum, anyway, 16-10, when the offense couldn’t get anything going, and Derek Carr gave up a backbreaking interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Of course, Woodson also grabbed a key interception a week earlier in Chicago — which the Raiders also squandered.

OK, with the Raiders at 2-3 in the 18th and possibly last season of a Hall of Fame career, what does Woodson think about all these wasted big plays?

“Got to come up with another one — that’s honestly how I feel,” Woodson said.

“You feel like, man, if you get one, you’ve got to get two. If you get two, you’ve got to get three.”

Woodson has four interceptions this season, tied for the NFL lead. And he has 64 career interceptions, tied with Ed Reed for sixth place all-time.

It does, to some extent, seem like a thorough waste of such a great career sunset.

But Woodson can’t and doesn’t think of it that way, at least not yet; this is about trying to win games, and the Raiders certainly weren’t outclassed by the division-leading Broncos on Sunday.

The Raiders just needed one or two more plays, and apparently if Woodson can’t make them, they just won’t be made.

At the very least, Woodson helped prevent Manning from making many big plays; and he got those two Manning interceptions.

“Well, it’s taken him 18 years,” Manning said, jokingly. “He’s a great player. It offsets the two touchdowns we threw on him last year. I think we’ll call it a wash, right?

“I’ve known Charles since college. He’s been Class of ’98, doing it for a long time. He’s a heck of a player, there’s no doubt about it. Charles and I are representing the elder class.”

Woodson won his duel but didn’t really want to talk about it afterward.

“The reason I get roped into talking about Peyton is because of the respect I have for Peyton,” Woodson said.

“He’s been one of the greatest players in this league, man, for a long time. We’ve both been in 18 (seasons).”

Woodson, however, did smile brightly when I asked him about Pick No. 2.

That was a soaring grab near the sideline early in the third quarter when Woodson found the ball by vaulting over both Denver receiver Demaryius Thomas and Raiders cornerback DJ Hayden.

“Now that felt good,” Woodson said. “That felt good. That felt like a young Charles right there.”

That’s exactly why it’s important for Woodson to be out there, at the end of his career and theoretically the beginning of a better era for the Raiders.

Woodson is the guy the young players on this team will remember when they’re in their primes, or in their later days, and they will remember plays like he delivered on Sunday.

Will they lead to a Super Bowl this season? Almost certainly not. But Woodson is what every Raiders player should want to be.

” ‘First Ballot’, that’s what we call him,” Carr said of Woodson, referring to Woodson’s probable Hall of Fame status.

“He showed it today against one of the best to ever play the game.

“Charles, it’s kind of funny, you’d think that stuff would surprise you coming from him, how old he is. But it doesn’t surprise us.”

All this happened while Woodson was coming in and out of the game with various ailments; most seriously, he has a banged-up shoulder from several weeks ago.

Woodson kept going back into the game, and he kept making those plays, through the bruises and the soreness.

“I can tell you I’ve never been so happy going to the bye week in my whole career,” Woodson said.

Then he’ll be back out there the following Sunday, when the Raiders play in San Diego, and Woodson probably will be one of the best players on the field once again.

Once again, it might not lead to a Raiders victory, and once again it might feel like a waste, but Woodson won’t feel that way. He’ll just want to make one more play.

Contact Tim Kawakami at tkawakami@mercurynews.com.