Cheese Curds, 9/29: Crosby wins player of the week, Stokes keeps earning praise

After making three field goals on Sunday night, including a 51-yarder to beat the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby is riding high. In fact, his performance earned him some league-wide acclaim, as he was named the NFC’s special teams player of the week this week.

But perhaps most impressively, Crosby has not missed a field goal since week 16 of the 2019 season. That’s a streak of 21 straight conversions, which is the second-longest streak in Packers history. (Crosby owns the longest at 23, spanning the 2010 and 2011 campaigns.)

But while one of the oldest Packers earned some acclaim from around the league, one of the youngest players on the team continues to earn praise from the coaching staff. That is Eric Stokes, of course, who made his first start on Sunday in relief of an ill Kevin King and had a largely excellent game.

For more on these two players and much more, take a spin through today’s curds as we begin to look ahead to next Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mason Crosby named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week | Packers.com
It's a well-deserved honor for Crosby, who went 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on PATs while also adding a special teams tackle. Crosby last won this award in week 6 of the 2018 season, and it is notable that that game saw him kick a last-second field goal to beat...the 49ers.

Packers think rookie CB Eric Stokes did ‘outstanding job’ in first start | Packers Wire
The Packers were pleased with rookie Eric Stokes' work over 70 snaps against the 49ers on Sunday night, and they have every reason to be.

How the Packers' pass protection neutralized a vaunted 49ers D-line: 'I'm so proud of those guys' – The Athletic (subscription)
With David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins sidelined, the Packers admirably protected Aaron Rodgers in a win over the 49ers in prime time.

Maybe it’s time to admit the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't a good team - Behind the Steel Curtain
The Packers' upcoming opponents haven't impressed, falling to the Bengals last Sunday, and our SB Nation colleagues are starting to get pessimistic about this season.

Imagining the NFL's Shohei Ohtani: The best potential two-way players for all 32 teams | ESPN
Rob Demovsky has Ty Summers as his pick, since he was recruited as by some colleges as a dual-threat quarterback. But shouldn't your pick here actually be good at their primary position? Personally, I'd go with Elgton Jenkins — with his versatility, I'm confident he'd make a heck of a nose tackle, and he has already demonstrated his tackling ability this season with two stops in week one.

Oscar Mayer offers NASA a Wienermobile to transport moon astronauts - CNET
The moon has been free of hot dogs for too long, dammit.