As a collective group, football fans are enamored with tangible production. They have to see it, hear it, and feel it to believe it.
Subtle contributions are for the birds. Only the most glaring plays (both good and bad) are worth taking into account when evaluating a player.
Digging beneath the surface is something that few fans have the time nor the patience to do. Thus, the most acclaimed stars in a given game are always the players who did the things that are the easiest to remember and the easiest to point out in the box score.