Sterling Shepard took the hit, stumbled to the ground, struggled to get up and was “pretty sure” he had a concussion in the third quarter of the Giants’ Week 1 game against the Cowboys.

But the wide receiver refused to take himself out of the game, and neither the Giants nor the NFL’s independent spotters saw enough to force him to the sideline. Instead, Shepard played out the 35-17 loss. The next day he entered the concussion protocol.

“They tried to send somebody in for me, I just kind of waved them off,” Shepard said Friday, out of the protocol and cleared to return to action Sunday against the Buccaneers. “It was ultimately my decision, I guess you could say. I just stayed in.”

Shepard said it took him a few plays, but “eventually I started feeling OK.” Asked how he weighed staying in the game versus playing it safe, the 26-year-old said it was a “that-moment decision.”

“I felt like I wanted to stay in to try to help my boys out, so that’s what I did,” Shepard said.

The episode prompted the NFL and NFLPA to undertake a review of concussion protocols, trying to determine how and why Shepard was allowed to stay in the game.

“I got nothing to add to that because that’s something that’s going on behind the scenes,” coach Pat Shurmur said.

Shepard did not start feeling like himself again until last Sunday or Monday, he said, which forced him to miss Eli Manning’s final start before being replaced by Daniel Jones. Shepard had more experience with Manning than any other pass catcher currently in the Giants locker room, so adjusting to Jones this week has been “different,” he said.

The two did not take many reps together during training camp — Shepard was held out of preseason games to let his broken thumb heal — so he has spent this week trying to make up for lost time and getting used to Jones’ ball, which comes with “more zip.”

Though Shepard pointed out the Giants “could have played better” for Manning, he is excited to get going with Jones.

“I feel like we can go down there and get a win with Daniel as quarterback,” Shepard said.

Jones’ ability to make plays with his feet — both in run-pass options and scrambling to make unscripted plays — is something Shepard said he is used to having in his quarterback. At Oklahoma, he played his senior year with Baker Mayfield.

“I’m just trying to help him any way I can,” Shepard said. “It’s his first time being out there, live game action. It’s my first time out there with him. So that’s where that week of preparation comes into play. You gotta be able to be on the same page with him and calm his nerves a little bit.”