© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

In most places, a team’s last trip to the playoffs conjures up thoughts of an exhilarating win or a devastating defeat.

Not here.

The Giants’ last trip to the postseason is best remembered for the infamous boat trip in Miami that included an evening of partying for four Giants receivers (Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis) with The Biebs (singer Justin Bieber).

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS Injured New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard (left) and quarterback Daniel Jones (8) on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J.

Shepard, whose 2022 season ended in Week 3 with a knee injury, is the last remaining Giant from the boat party and he admits to having regrets about making the trip following the team’s regular-season finale at Washington on New Year’s Day.

“Yeah,” Shepard said hesitantly when asked if he wishes the receivers had returned to New Jersey rather than partied in Miami. “Just from all the attention it received. It kind of drew away from the game. It had the guys wondering what was going on when the focus should be on the game, so I do regret it in that aspect. To the outside world, it became all about that.”

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© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

It remained about that when Beckham dropped three passes, including one in the end zone, during the Giants’ lopsided playoff loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Shepard, who also dropped a pass in the end zone that day, was a rookie on that team. In fact, he had a terrific rookie season, catching eight touchdown passes, which remains a career high. Even though the Giants lost in ugly fashion that day, Shepard was sure that the 2016 season was the beginning of something.

It was, after all, the first time the Giants had been to the playoffs since 2011, and it was Ben McAdoo’s first season as the head coach.

“I think every team that I’ve ever been a part of is going to go to the playoffs at the beginning of the season,” Shepard said. “That’s the mindset you’re supposed to have. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it always plays out. But, yeah, I did think we’d be going back the next year. We added more pieces to what we already had, but it didn’t work out that way.”

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll (left) fist-bumps safety Xavier McKinney (29) during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J.

No, it did not. That trip to the playoffs turned out to be the beginning of the end for the Eli Manning era.

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale (left) speaks with general manager Joe Schoen during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

It took three head-coaching changes (McAdoo, Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge all lasted just two seasons) and six seasons for the Giants to get another shot at winning a playoff game. That chance will come Sunday when rookie coach Brian Daboll, a veteran of 30 playoff games as an assistant coach, and the Giants play the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis.

Shepard is understandably dejected that he cannot play in this game. Injuries (a ruptured Achilles tendon in 2021 and a torn ACL this year) have limited him to 10 games the past two seasons. But he has remained with the team throughout this season and offered counsel to the younger players.

His playoff advice?

“The message I’ve been relaying to everyone is that the speed is going to go up,” Shepard said. “That’s just the nature of playoff football. I remember in my first time — my only time — in the playoffs, I thought it was going to be just like a regular season game. But from the first snap to the last snap, you realize that’s not the case. Everything is on the line and at that point they’ve gotten to see the film on you. They have a whole season of film and in this case they’ve played you, so you have to know how to switch some stuff up. You have to switch up some routes so they don’t get a jump on you.”

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants safety Landon Collins (21) runs during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

Defensive tackle Justin Ellis, a veteran of three trips to the playoffs, also believes that playoff football is a little bit different.

“First of all, it’s win or go home, so that just makes it a little more intense,” he said. “Guys study harder, guys play harder. They want to make it to that next week so they put everything on the line. That’s the most special thing about the playoffs. My first trip to the playoffs, we had played the Houston Texans earlier in the year, but when we faced them in the playoffs it wasn’t the same. Guys were running faster, the blocks were coming at you a little bit harder. The intensity is going to go up, but it’s still a football game, so don’t overthink it.”

It’s impossible to say how the young Giants without playoff experience are going to react to their first postseason game. Regardless of what happens, it sure feels like this team is at the beginning of something.

Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley have finally discovered how to win together and it now seems to be a lock that they will remain together.

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay (19) during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen also appear to be a formidable duo capable of making the decisions that will allow the Giants to improve even more in the offseason.

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“I feel like we have all the pieces in place to (improve), but it always comes down to execution,” Shepard said. “You never know what you’re going to have (the following season) until you see the group of guys you’re going to have on the field and every team is different from year to year, so I try not to look too far ahead. But I feel like we have the right coaches to do it.”

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) smiles during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

Nothing, however, is guaranteed beyond a chance to win a playoff game Sunday in Minneapolis.

Shepard learned that the hard way.

“It’s taken me six years to get back here,” he said. “Obviously I can’t play, which is a bummer, but you have to count your blessings because I know some guys that have been in the league for 14 years and have never had a playoff game. Look at Leo (Leonard Williams), he went a long time (seven years) and this is his first one. You can’t take it for granted. You have to give it everything you’ve got and prepare the right way.”

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© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS New York Giants running back Matt Breida (31) takes a handoff from quarterback Daniel Jones (8) during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com.

©2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) smiles during practice on Wednesday, January 11, 2023 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants travel to Minnesota this weekend for the NFC Wildcard round of the playoffs.

© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS