Regardless of media hype......

- Mars was habitable for surface life long before Earth although it didn't
last.

- Earth and Mars have been exchanging material since they've existed as terrestrial planets.

- Meteorites from Mars do not necessarily get hot enough to arrive sterile, assuming there were microbes to begin with.

- Mars has a nicely fractured crust where simple life could hide from the relatively harsh surface conditions AND we already know Earth has a rather extensive subsurface biosphere although admittedly subsurface conditions on Mars may be not directly analogous.

More examples of the powerful ability of life to adapt only helps.

Besides, you wanna flame a hype headline, check this one out.

Newly Discovered Antarctic Microbes Suggest Life on Mars