This is no party: Giants receivers had four crucial drops in first quarter against Packers

The New York Giants’ dropped passes in the first quarter of their wild-card playoff game can probably be attributed to the arctic weather at Lambeau Field and the football being as hard as a rock.

But after a week of criticism for the Giants’ receivers for partying on their off day in Miami, it was so easy to connect the drops to the party boat mini-controversy.

The good news for the Giants is their receivers got open with ease in the first quarter. The problem is they couldn’t catch it. Odell Beckham dropped one on third down. Then he dropped a touchdown. Rookie Sterling Shepard wanted to join in, so he dropped a touchdown and a third-down pass. The Giants finished the first quarter with a 3-0 lead, but it should have been more.

They eventually got ran out of Green Bay, 38-13.

Does this have anything to do with the Giants clubbing in Miami and then hanging out on a boat with Justin Bieber and others? Probably not. Maybe Beckham was just frozen after warming up without his shirt on before the game. But if you argued the Giants receivers who went to Miami lost focus for their upcoming playoff game, the drops were your proof.

Giants receivers Beckham, Shepard, Victor Cruz and Roger Lewis partied in Miami, and they had to know their performance in Sunday’s game at the Green Bay Packers would be scrutinized a little extra as a result. The results were nothing to celebrate.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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