Cheese Curds, 9/16: Defense responds to big plays with turnovers; Rodgers’ brain fart

There were unusual situations galore at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon. The Green Bay Packers’ defense was primarily responsible for a victory for the second week in a row. The offense fell apart after a magnificent start.

And, perhaps strangest of all, a massive mental error by Aaron Rodgers kept the Packers from getting points on the board.

There were odd officiating circumstances as well — like the referees taking a Minnesota Vikings touchdown off the board for offensive pass interference after a video review — but there was plenty of weirdness to go around before even getting to the zebras.

But when all was said and done, the Green Bay defense put together another winning performance, even despite giving up some big plays. Three turnovers (plus a bonus fourth on the final play) should be enough to get an Aaron Rodgers-led team to a victory, and thankfully the Packers pulled it off to claim the top spot in the NFC North after two weeks.

Packers’ defense keeps its swagger in face of adversity | Packers.com
The Packers' defense struggled with big plays on Sunday, giving up three chunks including both Vikings touchdowns. But they came up with splash plays of their own, turning the ball over four times including once inside the Packers' 10-yard line.

Packers CB Jaire Alexander lost ball in the sun on long TD to Stefon Diggs | Packers Wire
One of the Vikings' big plays was a 45-yard touchdown from Kirk Cousins to Stefon Diggs, but Jaire Alexander appeared to make a great break on the throw and a great play on the football. After the game, he explained the reason why he didn't break up or intercept the pass.

Aaron Rodgers' confusion cost Packers chance to score field goal | Packersnews.com
Rodgers had a rare moment of poor field awareness in the second quarter, as he thought that Geronimo Allison had received a favorable spot and a first down. Because of that, he tried to run a quick play to avoid a review. However, the ball was indeed short of the first down, and the play went down as a failed fourth-down conversion. Meanwhile, Matt LaFleur acknowledged that he should have called a timeout to get everyone on the same page.

Rodgers, LaFleur downplay 'animated' exchange | ESPN
Besides that, there was one instance of Angry Rodgers at the end of the first half when the quarterback threw the ball away on third and 16. Predictably, certain national media members picked up on this as a sign that the relationship between the two men is fractured, but as one would expect, the two aren't concerned about the incident in the slightest.

Brees, Roethlisberger Concerns Highlight Week 2 in the NFL | SI.com
Two veteran starting quarterbacks went down with injuries this week, putting the Saints' and Steelers' seasons in jeopardy.

A California woman dreamt she swallowed her engagement ring. Turns out she actually did - CNN
This story went viral over the weekend, as the woman actually swallowed the ring while dreaming that she was being chased. A hospital was able to recover it, however, and she's happy to have it back on her finger instead of in her intestines.