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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Panthers were 5-for-5 with five touchdowns in the red zone during Sunday's 35-31 win over the Green Bay Packers, something that has been a point of emphasis.

"That was large too because the last few weeks we started slow and weren't able to finish some of our drives," said running Back DeAngelo Williams, who had four 1-yard touchdown runs. "I think we did a good job today of finishing drives and getting touchdowns when we get in the red zone."

Williams had 21 rushes for 72 yards.

"(DeAngelo) had to carry more of the load today," Panthers coach John Fox said. "When he has, when we've called on him, he's come up. He's done a tremendous job for us."

SAFE FOR NOW: The win was vital for a couple of reasons for the Panthers. For one, Carolina was licking its wounds after a lopsided loss at Atlanta last weekend. More importantly, the Panthers kept pace in the ultra-competitive NFC South as Tampa Bay edged New Orleans 23-20 on Sunday to set up a showdown Dec. 8 in Charlotte between the Bucs and Panthers, who are tied for first in the division at 9-3.

"This was huge because the NFC South is really 'it' right now, and here we are 8-3 with playoff implications on the line," linebacker Jon Beason said. "To come in here and get this win was huge. It keeps us in the (division) race. It's going to be an even bigger game on Monday night against Tampa Bay."

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FIRST: Beason thinks that whoever wins the South is going to be the team to beat in the playoffs, making next week's game all the more important.

But he's even more amped about playing in prime time.

"It doesn't get any bigger. It's going to be my first Monday night game," Beason said. "I've been dreaming about it all year, especially after they beat us down there. And I really believe the road to the NFC Championship is going to go through the NFC South."

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.