I can’t believe it.

I really can’t believe it.

The media members who cover the Browns on a regular basis do a great job. There’s no question about that. I can say that with total honesty because I know all of them personally.

But for at least a portion of head coach Hue Jackson’s press conference on Monday, did they fall asleep? Were they focusing on something else? Did they all leave the Dino Lucarelli Media Room at Browns Headquarters in Berea to stretch their legs, get a drink of water or use the restroom?

Something had to be amiss — something had to be going on — because they failed to pose a follow-up question to Jackson after asking him about throwing the ball on a third-and-one situation in the third quarter of Sunday’s 30-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

The play resulted in quarterback DeShone Kizer getting sacked, which ended an extremely promising drive and, in effect, any hopes the Browns had of winning the game. You could feel the momentum swing away from the Browns for good.

The Browns had moved the ball on the ground all day and were doing it again on that possession. They were in the game. They needed a yard. The situation begged for another run – or maybe two if the third-down attempt didn’t get the first down. Passing the ball was not a viable choice, but that’s what Hue dialed up.

“We just got beat,” Jackson said. ‘It was max-protection. The guy spun out and made a play. (Bengals defensive lineman) Geno Atkins spun out. He won that battle. It is unfortunate. We had a guy in the middle of the field that was wide open. Those things happen. They beat us. It is just that simple. They won that one.”

Someone in the media then needed to ask Jackson why he called for a pass. It wasn’t that a receiver was wide open. It was that the quarterback didn’t have time to throw before getting dumped.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong all the way around.

Run the ball. It’s obvious that would have been the right call. Once again, Jackson eschews the run for the pass.

It has hurt the Browns all year, and it really hurt them at Cincinnati.