EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. — New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin spoke plainly when asked to describe how he is feeling these days.

“Miserable,” he said during a conference call the day after he watched his team throw away a lead for the second time in as many weeks. “What else can I say? Miserable. But I’m not gonna let it get me down”‘

Still, the 68-year-old head coach, who unfortunately has been down this road before, doesn’t want anyone, especially his players, feeling sorry for him as the clock winds down on what likely will be his final season as the Giants’ head coach.

“Coach Coughlin wants us to worry about Tennessee, getting a win, be able to enjoy, be happy about we are doing, and be able to celebrate as a team together, and celebrate a victory,” quarterback Eli Manning said.

“That is what we are going to do, we are going to focus on this week and take it one week at a time, and compete our tails off, and work hard, and that is all we can do, that is all we can control.”

Victories haven’t come easy for Coughlin’s Giants, who of late have looked so good in the first 30 minutes of a game only to unravel by the game’s end. The latest such instance saw his team take a 21-3 against the lowly Jaguars into the half only to come out, make the same mistakes that have dotted their season, and blow the game, 25-24.

Because of their latest failure, the Giants are the not-so proud owners of a seven-game losing streak, the longest losing streak in the NFL this season.

The feisty Coughlin might be miserable, but he is as confident as ever that he still has what it takes to lead this Giants team, offering a resounding and quick “No” when asked if he was starting to doubt his abilities.

Manning, who has been Coughlin’s starting quarterback since 2004, their first season with the team, was quick to point out that there is only so much that the coach can do, and that the players have to absorb their share of the blame for the Giants failure to reach the postseason in five out of the last six seasons.

“It is not his fault that we don’t finish games,” Manning said. “It is not his fault I fumbled for a touchdown, or (tight end) Larry Donnell fumbles for a touchdown. It is not his fault during San Francisco we don’t score from the three-yard line.

“I think we have been very close, we have been competing our tails off, and hopefully – we’ve got young guys, we’ve got new guys — we got to figure out how to come together as a team and a group and hopefully we can figure that out soon.”

Regardless of Manning’s words of support, it’s unlikely that management is going to rid the team of every single player responsible for the mishaps that have cost them games this season.

That’s why Coughlin is willing to put his neck on the line and take the onus off his team so that they can focus on getting better as individuals and as a unit-regardless of what it might mean for his future.

“I accept the full responsibility and whatever price has to be paid for that responsibility, then it starts right here with me,” Coughlin said, adding that he doesn’t listen to all the chatter outside of the organization questioning his ability to lead or calling for him to be relieved of his duties.

“I try to pay attention and do the job to the best of my ability and my concern is with my coaches and with my team, our organization, everybody in the Giant organization lives and dies with how this football team does, I understand that completely” he said.

“The responsibility I have to my coaches and players and to our owners, we’re gonna work our every-loving off to try to find a way to win a game. That’s all at this point in time we can do.”

Notes: Defensive end Robert Ayers Jr. will miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle. He might need surgery. … Offensive lineman Justin Pugh (quad) may return this week after missing two games. … Offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz (ankle) and running back Rashad Jennings (ankle) are being evaluated for status this week. … Offensive lineman James Brewer (concussion) is going through NFL protocol.

REPORT CARD VS. JAGUARS

–PASSING OFFENSE: C — The good news is there were no interceptions thrown, by quarterback Eli Manning. The bad news is that he was sacked four times, and tight end Larry Donnell had another back-breaking turnover, a ball that was returned for a touchdown. The only bright spot among the receivers was the play of rookie Odell Beckham Jr., whose 90 yards on seven catches makes him the first rookie in NFL history to have five games with at least 90 receiving yards in a calendar month. Beckham has clearly passed Rueben Randle, who was benched for a quarter after missing a team meeting on Friday, on the depth chart and in his quarterback’s heart.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus — It might not have looked like it, but the Giants running game quietly had a solid showing. New York rushed for 116 yards on 35 carries, their first 100-yard rushing game since Oct. 19 vs. Dallas when they ran for 104 yards on 96 carries. Rashad Jennings contributed the lion’s share, running for 91 yards on 26 attempts with two touchdowns before being forced from the game with an ankle injury.

–PASS DEFENSE: C — The Giants’ pass defense wasn’t really tested by the Jaguars, who scored their lone touchdown on offense on a 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marquise Lee, the team leader with six catches for 75 yards. However, head coach Tom Coughlin was disappointed that his defense was unable to come up with an interception against quarterback Blake Bortles, who had thrown at least one interception in every game this season before breaking that streak against the Giants.

–RUSH DEFENSE: D — It’s not so much that the run defense allowed 118 yards on 22 carries, the fifth time in the last seven games the Giants have been unable to hold an opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground. Rather, it’s that quarterback Blake Bortles finished as the Jaguars’ rushing leader in the game, with 68 yards on five carries thanks to the Giants’ continued inability to defend the read-option that remains the run defense’s biggest enigma right now, as defenders continue to be caught out of position.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Save for kicker Josh Brown’s 43-yard missed field goal-the points being the difference in the game for the Giants-New York’s special teams ended up winning the field position battle. Punter Steve Weatherford finished with a 47.8 net average, his best mark of the season, while Odell Beckham Jr. finished with a 9. Average per punt return.

–COACHING: D — Whether it was merely postgame frustration or an attempt to call attention to the matter, receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s thoughts about why the offensive game plan let up in the second half raises a valid point. Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo seems to be insistent on splitting the play calls between run and pass right down the middle; as a result, the Giants have lost the last three games in which they have had the lead at the half. Defensively, Perry Fewell delivered another head scratcher when on the game’s final drive, he had rookie linebacker Devon Kennard, who had been one of the defense’s best and most active players in the game, on the bench.