NFL

Coughlin, Rolle rip ‘pathetic’ Giants; Eli throws 5 picks

Amid the losing in this sorry season it was a case of United We Stand for the Giants. But not any longer.

The “playing for pride’’ theme apparently did not make its way into the hearts and minds of those who get paid to play offense for the Giants, as the whole bunch of them — starting with ringleader Eli Manning, who threw a career-high five interceptions — was so dismal in Sunday’s 23-0 loss to the Seahawks that Tom Coughlin called the performance “pathetic.’’ Can there be a more harsh indictment?

Well, yes, and safety Antrel Rolle was the one to deliver the verbal forearm shiver to those on the other side of the ball.

“If you don’t have passion about this game you don’t need to be out there on the field,” Rolle said, adding, “Sometimes out there it looked like we didn’t have a pulse.’’

And yes, Rolle made it clear he wasn’t talking about his defensive unit.

“You all saw the game,’’ Rolle said. “I don’t have to say anything. This is not about pointing fingers, it’s not about tit for tat, but it is what it is. If you saw the same you know exactly what you saw.’’

Antrel Rolle (26) makes an interception against Seattle.Ron Antonelli/Getty Images

Rolle never named names but apparently the criticism touched a nerve with tight end Brandon Myers, who took to Twitter a few hours after the game to write: “If ppl on this team wanna take shots at me and say I have no passion they are mistaken. I give everything I have each and every week.’’

Myers later tweeted, “My emotions got the best of me.”

It is going to be a long final two weeks for the Giants, who officially will have their first losing season since 2004.

On display at MetLife Stadium — the crowd was announced at 79,692 but there were rows and rows of empty seats — was a team primed for a Super Bowl run in the Seahawks (12-2) and a team primed for big changes (the 5-9 Giants) engage in one of the most lopsided 23-point margins in NFL history. On defense, the Giants were certainly competitive against Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch, but this was never a contest.

The Giants did not venture into Seattle territory until only 7:08 remained in the game. Early in the third quarter the Giants had 44 total yards. They were shut out at home for the first time since 1995 and have been shut out twice this season — the first time since 1996 that’s happened — and no other team in the league has been shut out even once this season.

Not upsetting the Seahawks is one thing, but looking like a group of offensive misfits is quite another.

“I told the players who prepared and gave great effort that I appreciated what they did,’’ Coughlin said of his postgame message, “and I told those that were obvious they had not, that I felt sorry for them because they’re missing the whole point.’’

Coughlin said more than that. He stood up in front of his team and took the blame for this game but was actually interrupted by Rolle, who wasn’t having any of that falling on the sword from the man in charge.

“Coach Coughlin can’t take any of this blame,’’ Rolle said. “I won’t allow that. Coach Coughlin, he’s the coach but he can’t coach heart. He can’t make a player have heart, he can’t make a player have passion about this game and that’s what we were lacking out there today.’’

Former Giants great Lawrence Taylor told The Post on Saturday he believes it is time for Coughlin to be fired. Coughlin is not believed to be in any danger of getting dismissed and Rolle’s strong support was not the only endorsement of the head coach.

“We have his back. We want to make sure we play as hard as we can for him,’’ defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said. “The thing I would say is coach Coughlin touched on it, if guys weren’t out there giving 100 percent effort then that’s what I have a problem with.’’

Manning’s effort is probably not in question, but his ability to throw the ball has gone awry. He’s never before thrown five interceptions in a game and that one was on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half isn’t the issue. He’s up to 25 on the season, matching his 2010 career high.

“It’s no fun when you get dominated like that,’’ Manning said, “when you get beat and you can’t get anything going offensively.’’

Sounds pretty pathetic.