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Xavier Rhodes recorded two interceptions against Arizona back in 2016, so it was only fitting the Vikings defensive backs followed him sounding the Gjallarhorn Sunday with a pair of picks in the fourth quarter.

Byron Murphy, Jr., nabbed the first one on the second play of the final period. Minnesota flustered Kyler Murray, and he took a chance along the Arizona sideline, but Murphy tracked the offering from his former teammate all the way.

The Vikings followed that takeaway with a field goal to make it 19-16. Arizona bounced back with one more field goal before Minnesota's offense put together a game-winning drive.

Shaq Griffin iced Minnesota's 10^th win (against two losses) with an interception on a fourth-and-10 heave by Murray.

The Vikings are the only team in the NFL with two separate five-game winning streaks this season, and this is the second time such a run has occurred in franchise history (7-game and 8-game streaks in 1998).

Minnesota only led this one for the final 73 seconds after Aaron Jones, Sr., caught a 5-yard pass from Sam Darnold and Parker Romo added the extra point.

The Vikings improved to 10-2 in a season for the third time since 2017. In addition to reaching that mark that year, Minnesota also won 10 of its first 12 in 2022 — Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's first season.

Harrison Smith has been part of all three of those teams and played his 188^th regular-season game (187^th start), tying him with Tim Irwin and Cris Carter for 10^th in franchise history. He was on the cover of the Playbook game program (shameless plug for the story I enjoyed posting last week).

"The thing about this league, and you hear it all the time, any team, any week can beat any other team. That's really why the NFL is such a great product to watch," Smith said. "They're a good team. You never know, we might see them again.

"Getting to 10 wins is always a good thing, but there's plenty of football left. It's cliché, but watch the tape, see what we can get better at," Smith and reporters laughed.

As for what he's looking forward to seeing on yesterday's tape, Smith said the following:

"J.G. (Jonathan Greenard) is always popping off the tape, no matter what week it is, especially in crunch time there," Smith said. "Getting the ball out was big, even though we didn't get it. Losing yards there is big time, and Shaq making a great play to seal it, especially when you're covering all game and make a play at the end, that's a big thing. It's hard to do that. It's hard to sustain throughout the game, so that was big time."

I get that you'll get dozens of e-mails about the defense (rightfully so). You'll get dozens of e-mails about our fourth-quarter offense (rightfully so). The moment that stuck out to me was Coach O'Connell hugging Aaron Jones after the game-winning touchdown. Let's be honest. Jones has had a tough couple of weeks. For O'Connell to reassure a great player that he believes in him was nice to see.

— Troy Boblitt in Springfield, Illinois

Good eye by Troy to note this exchange in the aftermath of the winning score.

O'Connell is becoming well known for his affirmations. Videos have shown him delivering encouraging words to Anthony Richardson of the Colts and Caleb Williams of the Bears, and the video above shows O'Connell encouraging Jones during his victory speech.

And birthday wishes for Jones, who turned 30 today. He's been incredibly instrumental in this team's success so far, and the Vikings believe he'll be able to move past the recent lapses in ball security.

What a game. Great win. Vikings made a game of it in the fourth quarter. And then got the fourth-down stop for victory formation. I think The Vikings coaching staff was completely out coached by the Cardinals for most all the game. It was embarrassing and painful to watch. On offense we can't score in the red zone, continue to be weak at the end of the first half and cannot convert third downs. On defense, we consistently give up third-down conversions, help the Cards with penalties, cannot get a sack on Kyler Murray and cannot get off the field for most of the game. But then closed when they had to on both sides of the ball. Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game.

UPS:

1. Denied the Cards a game-opening TD. That was nice.

2. Nice TD drive in the late third quarter. It is about darn time! Even better Darnold TD drive in the late fourth quarter to take the lead.

3. Vikings fourth-down interception and stop for the win. Wow.

DOWNS:

1. First offensive play of the game is a Jones fumble? Lucky to get the recovery — this was yet another Jones fumble and yet another first-possession fumble? Followed by a second Jones fumble. Not good. Unacceptable.

2. More weak play heading into halftime. On offense, we get a sack on third down instead of a first down to bleed the clock and get a chance for a TD and make the FG attempt 50-plus? On defense, for the second week in a row, the Vikings have all three timeouts at the 2-minute warning and the defense gives up penalties and multiple third-down conversions and just cannot get off the field — resulting in another late half FG. Sad.

3. Vikings offense can't score a mid-fourth quarter TD and settle for FG. Then, the Vikings defense gives up a long fourth quarter scoring drive for a FG.

Great comeback victory. Looking forward to the Falcons!

Respectfully,

— Jeff L.

The early stop helped set the tone for limiting Arizona to 1-for-6 on trips to the red zone, as well as the defense and special teams forcing a missed field goal after the fumble by Jones gave the Cardinals the ball at the Vikings 19.

Between how precise Darnold was in overtime at Chicago (6-for-6 for 90 yards) and how unflappable he was after the Vikings trailed by 13 with less than 20 minutes in the game, those are all encouraging signs.

He withstood five sacks — and several passes batted at the line of scrimmage — and left with his first win in six games in which he had been sacked at least that many times and first win in 24 games in which his team had trailed by 13 or more.

Although the deficit and first-half wildness paled in comparison to the 2022 comeback on the Colts, there were multiple points where the Vikings stayed composed and managed their way back into the game. O'Connell, his staff and players didn't press themselves into mistakes that could have denied the comeback.

Minnesota settled for the field goal but made sure to get points to make it 19-16 with 11:08 remaining. The part that didn't go as planned was an impressive 16-play drive Arizona executed over the next 7:48 thanks to two conversions of third-and-7-plus by the Cardinals.

They're not the "Cardiac Vikes" for nothing! What an unbelievable finish. My heart was literally pounding! To be able to come back like that says a lot about this team. And Sam Darnold. He keeps showing up when he's most needed. No picks and delivered under enormous pressure. Sam's having an MVP year — if he keeps it up. Aaron Jones got redemption, but I still think he's got butterfingers. Hope he fixes that pronto. It was really nice to see Justin Jefferson be more of a factor. The fourth-down conversion was perfectly executed. I thought we scored too soon, but the defense came through — again. The D was getting schooled most of the day but really came alive when we needed it. I'm still concerned with our DBs and giving up so many yards/long drives. We've got to get off the field. Lastly, I guess it was a Thanksgiving hangover, but the crowd was lifeless. It was nice to see everyone was still alive there in the end. Finally made some noise. Let's see what we can do with our boy Kirk-o (Kirk Cousins) next week. We should definitely know how to rattle his cage.

SKOL!!!

— J.B. Brunet

There seemed to be a little sluggishness all around, including on the field, but when the Vikings needed the home crowd to really boost the juice in the fourth quarter, the folks brought it.

Arizona's a bit of an upstart this season, but they have some great coaches in multiple spots (including several former Vikings assistants).

Murray made some great plays and generally dodged some good pressure attempts by Minnesota.

Jefferson finished with seven catches for 99 yards, including a gain of 12 on a gotta-have-it-fourth-and-5 before the 2-minute warning.

Blitzes, fumbles and sacks dominated the first half. The Vikings did not come out with their tails between their legs. They found ways to beat the blitz and were able to engineer two touchdown drives and come away with the win. Great catch by Aaron Jones. Big players come up big when it matters. 10-2 is looking good.

— Gerald Goblirsch

Some talk-up or talk-down the importance of "halftime adjustments" but the Vikings did work in a few ways to offset the blitzes that were so successful for Arizona by the end of the game.

Greetings with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Wouldn't a running back or quarterback draw be a good strategy against a heavy predictable pass rush like Arizona was using?

I don't witness it being used much anymore by any team!

Thank you for your response.

— Wally R. (Fifty-year plus fan) in Battle Creek, Michigan

Those could help slow down a pass rush, for sure.

It also seemed like Minnesota was able to pop a couple of runs on the perimeter, including an 18-yarder by Cam Akers on the Vikings second play of their first touchdown drive.

The bubble screen to Jordan Addison on the play before the touchdown to Jones was a nice, safe extension of the run game that also quickly got the ball to the perimeter.

I wasn't able to watch the game, but I kept checking the play by play on my phone, and that first half looked like the current format for the Pro Bowl. Except instead of flag football, it looked like both teams were playing Hot Potato, and neither side wanted to hold onto the football too long.

And I have to wonder if someone was pranking Aaron Jones and replaced his tube of Stick 'em with Slip & Slide. He's a great runner, and Green Bay's loss is our gain, but didn't they try to preach ball control last year to little avail?

But at least the Vikes managed to wake up halfway through the third quarter and hold on just enough to win. Disappointed the defense couldn't sack Kyler, but at least they picked him off twice, especially the game-saving one at the end.

— David A. from the North Shore but stuck in the Deep South

Murray is quite fleet-footed, and he's capable of throwing off his back foot/on the move. I understand how those challenges could make it difficult to sack him.

I also think that shines a light on the plays made by Greenard on Arizona's final possession. He forced a fumble by the QB that resulted in a sack and then tackled Murray in bounds after a gain of 3 to create a fourth-and-10 out of a second-and-5.

Although Minnesota got just one sack on the day, the Vikings did affect Murray.

According to NFL Media Research, his 21.9 passer rating in the final stanza was the second lowest in a fourth quarter in his career.

Against the blitz: 15-23, 116 pass yards, 2 INT, 41.2 passer rating on Sunday

Against no blitz: 16-22, 144 pass yards, 1 TD, 105.1 passer rating

Individually or as a team, what should the Vikings ask from Santa for Christmas? Will it be a short or long list?

— Ed Helinski in Auburn, New York

I think the No. 1 overall thing is to stay as healthy as possible.

The second thing is probably an improvement in ball security, because the Vikings have had so much success under O'Connell when the team wins the turnover battle.

Minnesota also could put in a request for a bit of help from other teams who are still scheduled to play the Lions (11-1) and Packers (9-3), but ultimately the Vikings will close out their season against those two teams. The goal is to make those mean as much as possible by continuing to handle each week, beginning with the Falcons.

Maybe consider using up tempo to start the game rather than sitting in the huddle for 30 seconds. Isn't it obvious that Darnold plays 100-percent better when there's tempo rather than huddling up every snap in the first three quarters. You would think the head coach could figure this out, but he hasn't.

This team can win a Super Bowl if we come out with a game plan on offense rather than react to the other teams. Why can't O'Connell fix the turnover issues we've had for two seasons now?

— Kevin Flynn

Tempo can definitely yield results, especially for a team with high-end talent, but it can also be a bit of a double-edged sword when it comes to trying to stay even or near there in the time of possession.

Minnesota lost it in every quarter on Sunday, with Arizona playing keep away for 35:49.

The ball security by runners and receivers did improve after a horrendous start to the 2023 season.

It's a W, which is the desired outcome every Sunday.

That being said, the defense continues to carry the offense, and something has to give eventually. The disparity in time of possession is untenable. The capacity to take over the game is there, but they are playing with fire.

Aaron Jones has been a liability more than an asset as of late — again, the defense bailing them out. Glad he was able to get back in and contribute in the end.

That our offense was able to put two drives together at the end, and our defense buckled down on the pivotal drive is a testament to the players' drive and resilience.

Separately, we saw in the first half against the Cardinals how the home crowd can affect an opposing offense. Looking ahead at the final game of the season, which could have HUGE implications, what does the team do to practice for away games with a rabid indoor fan base? Ford Field has become one of the worst places to play for a visiting team with the Lions recent revival. Combine that with playing against elite competition, the Vikings can ill afford mistakes and pre-snap penalties, wasted timeouts and mental mistakes.

Here's hoping the team figures out a sustainable offensive tempo going forward — SKOL VIKINGS!!

— Jerry Schroeder

A stiff challenge might not make things easy on the eyes, but I'm of the philosophy that sharpening a resilience factory and building the belief in the ability to respond are beneficial for football teams.

The Cardinals had 10 accepted penalties for 96 yards, compared to three penalties for 56 yards that were accepted against the Vikings. False starts by Arizona created adverse down-and-distances.

When Minnesota is prepping for a home game, the Vikings play crowd noise at practice when the first-team defense is on the field. They'll do the same when the offense is on the field while preparing for road games.

Watching the Vikings is like watching [Muhammad] Ali when he employed "Rope a Dope!" The Vikings do not attack on either side of the ball and keep taking shots from their opponents at the start of the game. What has happened to our attacking mentality? We fumble the ball, allow our QB to be sacked and when we do score, we are kicking field goals.

Have they won, yes! But where is it written that the Vikings can only win in one-score games. We have so many elite players and yet we play them in first gear instead of putting the team in overdrive.

Please explain to me, if you can, why this is the case? Just concerned that KO has too much on his plate and has lost some of his edge in favour of conservative football.

The nucleus is there to make a championship run, but we need to start to play like one.

Skol,

— John Stephens in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada

O'Connell improved to 30-16 overall in regular-season games.

He is 24-9 in one-score games for a win percentage of 72.7, and he is now 27-8 when the Vikings have their Week 1 starter at quarterback, which is good for a clip of 77.1 percent.

He found the right plays for clutch drives, including getting the fourth-and-5 to Jefferson, who was open despite everyone on the planet expecting the ball to go to Jefferson in such a clutch moment.

I'm not aware of a written or unwritten rule about one-score games, but stress levels could benefit from an amendment to that.

Having been a fan since the beginning, I realize how the mindset has been. It seems that we have been conditioned to think along the lines of "What can we do to lose?" But since the arrival of Kevin O'Connell and his positive attitude, it is now "What can we do to win?"

At the beginning of the season, we were expected to be the best fourth-place team in our division. Instead, we are just a game out of first. It's easy for folks to sit back and say "coulda, woulda, shoulda." I believe the staff is well-aware of what is happening.

It's been quite a ride, and I would like to thank everyone involved for the hard work involved in putting this team together.

Sincerely,

— Earleen in Las Vegas, Nevada

Appreciate those thoughts and the long-time support.

The power of positivity and O'Connell's authentic belief this team would be better than preseason naysayers — and his way of reinforcing that — have helped give Minnesota so much to play for in the final five weeks of the regular season and vie for a playoff berth.