Former New York Giants receiver Sterling Shepard, the last man standing from the famous "boat photo" that went viral back before the New York Giants 2016 Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers, recently opened up about that ill-advised picture that initially started as friends having fun but which spiraled into a major distraction for the Giants in the days leading up to their Wild Card loss to the Green Bay Packers in 2016.
Shepard and fellow receivers Odell Beckham Jr, Victor Cruz, Roger Lewis, and rapper Trey Songz were snapped shirtless aboard a boat in Miami after jetting down south for some downtime on their days off after the Giants finished 2016 with a 19-10 win over Washington and a Wild Card playoff berth locked up.
However, the picture went viral, with some comparing it to the photos of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romon and tight end Jason Witten, who, during the bye before their 2007 home Divisional playoff game against the Giants, had jetted off to Cabo with friends, including pop star Jessica Simpson.
That picture drew criticism and questioned the wisdom of taking a vacation over studying film. The Giants, of course, went on to defeat the Cowboys as part of their improbable run to a Super Bowl championship that year.
The 2016 boat photo stirred up similar memories. It became a hot topic of conversation with the media, who questioned the wisdom of the decision to leave town for a day and a half rather than study film ahead of the playoff game.
"We didn't put out the picture," Shepard said while appearing on the 2nd Wind Podcast. "To be honest, everybody went out that night; it's just that most guys went into the city. Me, O [Odell Beckham Jr.], Victor [Cruz], and Roger [Lewis], we had the means to go get a PJ [private jet] and go to Miami for the night."
"Now, we didn't know the PJ was going to have malfunctions and not be able to get back when we were supposed to be back, but yeah, we just took it to Miami. Which, in hindsight, all the distractions that it caused, I would take that part about it back, but we had a good time, and we had two weeks before the playoff game."
"Everybody in the media was talking about it. Nobody in the building was really talking about it. It was really the people in the media, and they made a big deal about it, which was a distraction to the team."
Shepard says they knew their photo would add pressure to the wide receivers in their upcoming playoff game.
"We knew we were going to have to play a perfect game, and if not, it was going to be blamed on that, and we didn't play a perfect game. We didn't play a good game at all," Shepard says.
In a show of unity, the Giants receivers went through their early pre-game warmups bare-chested in the frigid Green Bay temperatures to show their unity and belief in one another. However, according to Pro Football Focus, had five dropped passes in that game, three by Beckham and two by Shepard--Lewis didn't have any targets--in a 38-13 loss.
"There’s no excuses," Shepard said. "It was what it was; we didn’t play good. And we knew we were gonna catch heat for that. And we did.”
After the game, an angry and frustrated Beckham allegedly punched a hole in the wall outside the ground crew's locker room and banged his head against a door in frustration.
Years after that photo surfaced, both Cruz and Beckham admitted their regret. Cruz said the photo would haunt him "for the rest of my life."
The Giants have had one winning season since, that coming in 2022 which was also their first trip back to the postseason since 2016. Since the picture was taken, they have also fired three head coaches--Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, and Joe Judge.
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