The Giants were more than doubled-up in total yardage. Their defense was exposed. They couldn’t run the ball or protect the quarterback.
And, yet, wide receiver Sterling Shepard faulted himself, accepting blame that should have been directed elsewhere, lamenting two missed opportunities.
Twice, Shepard was in the back of the end zone and the ball was within his grasp, once in the third quarter and again in the fourth quarter. Instead of 14 points, the Giants would settle for three. Both times, he couldn’t complete the play. He was out of bounds the first time on a high Daniel Jones throw and unable to corral the pass in tight coverage on the other occasion, as Big Blue were trying to rally from a 15-point deficit. The Giants called for an instant replay challenge of defensive pass interference, but the call went unchanged.
“For me, I feel like I should come up with that,” Shepard said after the Giants’ 28-10 loss to the Vikings at MetLife Stadium. “It’s a tough catch, but I feel like I can make tough catches. Myself personally, I need to come up with those. It’s not an easy play, but you know what? I feel like I can make tough catches. That’s the reason I play this game. I put that on myself.
“It could’ve been big for us.”
Shepard didn’t play a poor game, catching five passes for 49 yards. He was again Jones’ go-to target, a key cog the few times the Giants offense moved the ball. But he expects more out of himself than five receptions on 10 targets. He dwelled on his close misses, just a touch off with Jones. There was also a big play the two couldn’t connect on in the first quarter, Shepard running free down the right sideline and Jones overthrowing him while under a heavy rush.
“It’s a game of inches and you saw that today,” Shepard said. “We have to correct some little things. It’s all thing that are correctable.
“That was a great defense that we faced, but we look at ourselves as a great offense.”
It was a rough afternoon for the team’s new No. 1 wide receiver. He also came out of the game and was tested for a concussion, only to return. He missed a game earlier this season with a head injury. About the only positive was he finished the game and felt fine afterward.
“I’m all right,” he said.
Physically, he was fine. Mentally, Shepard wasn’t, disappointed by the result he felt could have been different had he made those two momentum-turning plays.