GREEN BAY, Wis. — It had been a while since an NFC team pushed back against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

The Atlanta Falcons gave the Packers a four-quarter wake-up call on Monday night.

Eddie Lacy ran for a touchdown and caught one of Aaron Rodgers’ three TD passes, and Green Bay built a 24-point halftime lead before holding on for a 43-37 victory.

The Packers (10-3) earned their fifth consecutive victory to stay a game up on Detroit in the NFC North. They remained tied with Arizona for the NFC’s best record.

But Green Bay had plenty to think about.

Atlanta star receiver Julio Jones shredded the secondary for a career-high 259 yards before leaving with a hip injury in the fourth quarter. Matt Ryan threw for 375 yards and four second-half touchdowns.

“We can’t play one half or three quarters or anything like that,” Packers defensive end-linebacker Julius Peppers said. “We’ve got to finish games.”

The New York Jets and New England Patriots each stayed within a touchdown of the Packers this season. But the four previous games against NFC foes were all blowouts, effectively over following a first-half Packers onslaught.

This one appeared headed that way, too, after the Packers built a 31-7 halftime lead.

The first play of the third quarter provided a clue that things might turn out differently against Atlanta.

Jones’ 79-yard catch-and-run to the Packers 3 on the first play of the third quarter set up a 5-yard touchdown catch by Eric Weems on fourth down. Jones added a 22-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

Ryan’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter trimmed Green Bay’s lead to 40-30, but the Falcons dropped to 5-8.