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GREEN BAY, Wis. — A promising 4-2 start to the season is only a distant memory now.

The injury-depleted Carolina Panthers lost their fourth straight, 31-17 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon.

At 4-6, Carolina trails Tampa Bay by two games in the NFC South standings. Green Bay, meanwhile, improved to 9-1 and matched Dallas for the best record in the entire NFC.

Tramon Williams' 94-yard return of John Kasay's pooch punt gave the Packers an early 7-0 lead, and although the Panthers cut it to 7-3 on the ensuing possession, Carolina couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.

"Any time you get a big play, that's huge. It wasn't just the fact that it was a pooch punt," Fox said. "If it would have been an interception return or them throwing a big bomb -- all those plays are big."

Fox said kicking the field goal was never an option because the wind and field conditions made the distance just outside of Kasay's range.

But the pooch-punt decision backfired.

"We never had any intention to kick the field goal. We had guys down there (to cover the punt), we just didn't do a good job of breaking down and making the play," Fox said. "We've done it before and it's something we practice a lot. It was just an excellent play on that kid's (Williams) part. It was a great effort."

Packers quarterback Brett Favre finished 22-of-30 for 218 yards and three TDs. His third scoring pass capped the first drive of the third quarter and gave Green Bay a 28-3 lead. The Packers coasted from there.

"We just have had an issue with putting together four solid quarters of football. We feel like we've got to find a way to do that," Panthers defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said. "I don't think that it's just one moment. It's been ongoing for a few weeks now. ... Green Bay is a good team and they're playing great right now, but we're our own worst enemy right now."

Vinny Testaverde led a pair of second-half TD drives that provided a silver lining, but the scores were cosmetic.

"We needed some more big plays in the first half," said Testaverde, who finished with 258 passing yards and two touchdowns but also had two interceptions and lost a fumble. "Personally I didn't have my best ballgame, and in order for us to win it starts with the quarterback. The quarterback has to play well and I didn't do that today."

Carolina had a chance to cut into a 21-3 lead just before halftime. A pass interference call on Packers cornerback Jarrett Bush moved the ball to the Green Bay 7 with 26 seconds left. But on the next play, Testaverde was sacked and stripped of the football by Packers defensive tackle Corey Williams. The Packers' Aaron Kampman recovered the fumble to end the threat.

Green Bay returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter all the way to the Panthers' 28. That set up Favre's touchdown pass to Donald Lee that put the game out of reach.

The Panthers offense was missing its most explosive player, wideout Steve Smith, who was held out because of a shin contusion.

Smith's absence opened the door for Drew Carter to start, and Carter responded with five catches for 132 yards and a TD.

"I feel like we can be really good (on offense). I feel like sometimes people think Steve's (Smith) a one-man show, and we don't want that to happen," Carter said. "Steve's by far the best receiver in the NFL, but he also can't win the games by himself."

Although the Panthers' second-half success on offense wasn't enough to prevent a loss, it did leave the Carolina players feeling more confident about where they're headed with Testaverde at the helm.

"You don't even know how hard (switching quarterbacks) is until you go through it. You have a starting quarterback, then you have a backup quarterback, then you have a third quarterback, then you switch back," Carter said. "There's timing there. People just want to make plays when the ball's up in the air, but also there's timing.

"It's just being comfortable with the quarterback, and that's the main thing. Right now we feel comfortable with Vinny stepping in and making plays with him."