I believe that fans care more about the final score than do a LOT of the players. Most of those guys are wealthy. They get a meager stipend for playoff appearances, but don't really make enough to care.
That is why the population of players who cannot stand to lose, who would rather eat glass than lose, are what define a team. Steelers had one in Ben and now he is gone. Watt, Heyward, Minkah - they are in that category. Steelers roster used to be stocked with guys like that, Ward, Miller, Hartings, Harrison, Troy, Ike.
Now? Devin BusT, Terrell Edmunds, Joe Schoebert, Dan Moore, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson get paid win or lose, and get paid a lot, so their "I give a ****" meter is basically at zero for the final score.
Compare that to successful teams - the hated Patriots for example. Brady, Gronk, Welker, Harrison, Edelman, Butler, McCourty, Wilfork were all players who would rather win than have a pretty stat line.
A lot of this is game planning and putting players in the best position to succeed, but after another 40 plays of Chase Claypool jogging downfield and waving at a pass, then complaining to the ref, I am done with the guy. He and Johnson look like two old ladies annoyed they are missing "Matlock" because they have to spend 3 1/2 hours in a stadium.
