Less than a year removed from a berth in the NFC championship game and a franchise best-tying 13-3 regular-season record, the Packers find themselves a previously unthinkable 5-7 after a gut-wrenching 35-31 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

With the loss, the Packers are two games out of first place in the mediocre NFC North with four games to play.

After going 5-1 in regular-season games decided by seven or fewer points last year, the Packers are 1-4 in such games this year, and have lost five of six such games dating to their 23-20 home loss to the New York Giants last January with a berth in Super Bowl XLII on the line.

"We didn't make plays in crunch time," said quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose interception with 1:09 to play sealed the Packers' fate. "We've had a number of games that have come down to the wire, and we haven't been able to pull them out -- and we lose by a close margin. . . . We had almost 450 yards (of offense) today and to lose like that is pretty disappointing."

They lost like they did because, after battling back from deficits of 7-0, 14-3 and 21-10 to take a 28-21 lead, they failed on offense -- settling for a 19-yard Mason Crosby field goal with two point-blank scoring chances from the 1-yard line -- then on defense -- giving up a 54-yard Jake Delhomme-to-Steve Smith bomb to set up DeAngelo Williams' go-ahead touchdown with 1:30 to play -- and then on offense again with Rodgers' interception.

"I think it showed a lot about our Football team," said Carolina coach John Fox, whose Panthers (9-3) are tied with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South. "You get down the stretch, we always talk about people remember what you do in December. I know it's not officially December yet, but it's close enough. As you get down to this last month of the year ... every one of these games becomes huge. And I think everyone is fighting for that same 12-team tournament. Once you get in that, it's whoever gets hot."

Trailing 21-10 at halftime, the Packers took control in the third quarter and rattled off 18 unanswered points for a 28-21 lead.

But the Packers' kickoff coverage problems reared their head again in the fourth quarter, with Jones' 51-yard return starting Carolina out at midfield. After Tramon Williams' pass-interference penalty wiped out his interception and Smith beat him for 36 yards to the Packers' 1, DeAngelo Williams scored the third of his four 1-yard TDs, tying the score 28-28.

That set the stage for the finish, with the Packers driving to the Carolina goal line, only to see Jackson and fullback John Kuhn get stuffed, forcing the field goal.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Delhomme hit Smith over Woodson for 54 yards, setting up Carolina's decisive TD.

Carolina linebacker Jon Beason then sealed the win with his interception of Rodgers' deep heave.

"Any time you lose, it's tough," Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "The way it happened today, with all the opportunities we had, it's hard. It's obviously a tough loss to take."