New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is currently in the concussion protocol after apparently suffering a concussion during the Giants’ 35-17 loss on Sunday to the Dallas Cowboys.
Many find that strange because Shepard was never checked for a concussion during the game that we know of. He played 99% of the Giants’ offensive snaps on Sunday and stayed in the game after apparently suffering the concussion with 9:20 remaining in the third quarter.
The NFL has a team of employees at each game to spot possible concussions and they missed the fact that Shepard could have been hit in the head here. The Giants look to be signaling to the bench after the play as Shepard struggles to his feet.
No one asked Giants head coach Pat Shurmur this week about what actually happened after that play, so we don’t know if the Giants’ bench was even aware of the situation. Plus, Shepard stayed on the field so there were no conversations with him on whether he was fit or not to continue.
The Giants drove the football down to the Dallas 7 and on a 4th-and-1, ran the below play in which Shepard was the likely intended target. But he was knocked off his feet (no penalty was called, naturally) and Manning never got the pass off anyway.
Shepard (six catches for 42 yards on seven targets) was targeted once more in the game after that play. On the next possession, he caught a nine-yard pass from Manning and was not targeted in the fourth quarter at all.
On Monday, we found out that Shepard was in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
