Minkah Fitzpatrick answers query on Pittsburgh Steelers' mindset after loss to New England Patriots

All Pro-safety Minkah Fitzpatrick didn't mince his words after his side Pittsburgh Steelers went down to New England Patriots, 21-18, on Thursday. Reflecting on the team's loss, Fitzpatrick termed his side's problems were rooted in entitlement and a lack of effort when asked to respond on their mindset after such a defeat. It is to be noted that Steelers have looked a pale shadow of themselves in the recent past and with two successive defeats, their playoffs chances have suffered a massive dent.

'This is the NFL. Nothing's handed to you. You got to earn everything'

Responding to the reporters after the defeat, Fitzpatrick said, "In order to see the fruit, you've gotta toil for it. I think too many people don't want to toil for it. They just want to walk out here and think that they're going to make plays and think that they're going to perform at a high level. I think we need to have more people who want to work for it, not expect it to be handed to them."

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"This is the NFL. Nothing's handed to you. You got to earn everything. I think that dudes just think that because they're wearing the black and gold, that they're going to win games, and I think we need to check that mentality and make people realize that they got to earn that mentality, and they got to earn every single blade of grass, every single splash play and every single rep that they get out there. They got to earn it," he added.

For a second week in the running, the Steelers (7-6) lost to a team that entered the contest with just two victories under their belt before turning it around versus them. This defeat dents Steelers' progress. At present, they are at the third spot in AFC North with time running against them to make it to the playoffs.

According to theESPN Analytics, Steelers' playoffs chances have dropped by 38 per cent. It was 74 per cent by the end of Week 12 -- following their win overthe Cincinnati Bengals --before falling to 36 per cent.

Asked if the mentality could change, Fitzpatrick said he "wasn't sure," and added, "The only thing that people could do is evaluate their work week. Look in the mirror, evaluate their work week, evaluate their character, evaluate their love for the game, evaluate why they play the game, and if you're doing it for the wrong reasons or if you're doing it just because you like it and you don't love it and you don't love the ugly part of it, then you need to evaluate what you're doing."