Giants receiver Sterling Shepard bothered by missed opportunities

The Giants were down by three to the Vikings after the first drive Sunday, but they had a chance to strike back in a hurry.

Four plays later, Sterling Shepard flashed wide-open deep for Daniel Jones, but the rookie quarterback put too much on the ball. Shepard dived but couldn’t pluck it out of the air before he and the ball hit the MetLife Stadium turf.

“It was a near-miss,” Shepard said.

Two other passes could’ve been Shepard touchdowns but also didn’t turn out that way. Minnesota won comfortably, 28-10, but the potential big plays could’ve made it a lot less comfortable for the Vikings.

“It’s a game of inches,” Shepard said. “You saw that today.”

So the Giants’ record is 2-3 and their No. 1 receiver has a few regrets after being targeted 10 times and making five receptions for 49 yards. If he had made a few more catches, Shepard said, “It could’ve been big for us.”

Fellow receiver Golden Tate knew the near-completions bothered Shepard, even if the first two really were more the quarterback’s fault.

“I feel like [Shepard]  took those [missed] opportunities pretty hard on himself,” Tate said. “He knows he can make a few of those. He knows how close a few of those were. There’s no doubt he wants to make those bad.”

One of his three near-receptions actually was a spectacular catch. It came on the first drive of the third quarter with the Giants in an 18-7 hole. On third-and-goal from the 10, Jones sent a ball Shepard’s way near the back of the end zone. He propelled his body backward into the air and caught the ball but couldn’t get both feet down inbounds. The Giants ended up with a field goal.

Jones lamented that pass and the overthrow in the first quarter, saying: “I’ve got to be better in those situations and we’ve got to take advantage of those. You can’t afford to miss those against a team like that.”

Shepard, who suffered a concussion during the Week 1 game against the Cowboys but wasn’t checked for one and played on, was pulled later in the third quarter Sunday to be checked for a concussion. He was cleared to return soon after.

“I didn’t really have a reaction,” he said. “Just whatever they say for me to do and then go back out there.”

He was out there on fourth-and-12 from the Minnesota 27 in the fourth quarter with the Giants trailing 25-10. Jones fired a pass to Shepard in the end zone, but it was incomplete, with cornerback Mike Hughes defending on the play. The Giants challenged for interference, but the no-call was upheld.

“It’s not an easy play,” Shepard said of that one and the first-quarter dive. “But you know what? I feel like I can make tough catches. I put that on myself.”