Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh made it clear on Sunday night, via his actions, how he feels about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

The Bengals had a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter on Sunday night when the Ravens got the ball back with just over three minutes remaining in the game.

That was more than enough time for Baltimore to tie the game (or take the lead with a two-point conversion).

It was so much time, in fact, that Harbaugh decided to try to bleed the clock as much as possible.

That's always the idea in that situation — no one wants to give the ball back to the other team with time on the clock. Especially when all the opposing team needs is a field goal.

But scoring should take priority over bleeding the clock. Without the points, the clock doesn't matter.

Harbaugh ultimately cost his team a chance to win because of the way he managed the clock. He held onto timeouts, ran the ball, and even had his team going into a huddle instead of running a typical two-minute offense.

A holding penalty essentially doomed the Ravens and the Bengals were able to leave Paycor Stadium with a playoff win. It was Burrow's fourth playoff win in the last 12 months.

After the game, Harbaugh explained that he didn't want to leave any time on the clock for the Bengals.

John Harbaugh on the clock management at the end pic.twitter.com/eVlXXAl59K

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 16, 2023

Again, that's not an uncommon strategy.

But it certainly seems like Harbaugh's coaching in that situation was influenced by who was on the other sideline.

There are a few quarterbacks that you know will make you pay if you give them the ball with a few seconds left on the clock.

Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are in that group. Burrow is also in that group.

I think Burrow helped the Bengals beat the Ravens on Sunday night in the first round of the playoffs simply by being on the sideline late in the game. Harbaugh likely knew if the Ravens scored and left any amount of time on the clock for Cincinnati that Burrow would do something special.

That's how you know Burrow is a superstar. Harbaugh, despite his misuse of timeouts on Sunday night, is one of the best NFL coaches of the last 20 years. And he was frightened by the idea of Burrow getting the ball back late in the game to the point that it influenced how he coached.

Burrow has that "it factor" that's hard to explain. But if you watched the way Harbaugh managed the end of Sunday night's game, it will certainly help you understand the effect that Burrow has on opposing coaches.

Featured image via Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports