MINNEAPOLIS — Shaq Griffin shouted "We owe you one!" after Jonathan Greenard swiped the ball to the turf to turn a second-and-5 into a third-and-13.

So, on fourth-and-10, Griffin ran stride-for-stride with Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr., high-pointed the pass intended for the 22-year-old son of the Pro Football Hall of Famer and secured the interception.

Sam Darnold kneeled on the next snap and the game was over – and the Vikings became winners of five straight.

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight," Byron Murphy, Jr., admitted after the 23-22 victory.

"When things aren't going your way, you've got to dig deep," Andrew Van Ginkel remarked.

Minnesota's defense bent but didn't break Sunday. It played from behind until the offense gained its first lead with 1:13 remaining; it registered its first sack in the final 53 seconds, and nearly ran out of breath.

The Cardinals began their last-ditch drive equipped with 73 seconds and three timeouts at their 30-yard line. Fifty or fewer yards stood between a sixth field goal, which could have doubled as the game-winner.

Instead, the "closers" on the Vikings defense protected a short field to solidify win No. 10 this year.

Numerous players had significant performances, but the plays by Greenard and Griffin were magnified.

"Those are two players we expect to make big plays in big moments," Blake Cashman said.

"J.G. is always popping off the tape, no matter what week it is," Harrison Smith disclosed. "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."

Vikings defenders fed off each other. They challenged Kyler Murray's pocket elusiveness and heightened his uncomfortableness.

Griffin shared words with Greenard after the edge rusher displaced the ball from Murray's grip.

"I told him, 'Man, keep doing it!' I said, 'We got your back. Once you make a play, we'll make a play.' It's funny, he gave me a big hug right after," recalled Griffin, noting that Greenard wouldn't waver no matter his tiredness. "This is a guy who I've been playing with since [our] Houston days and somebody I depend on a lot to go make that pass rush work, and he depends on us to make sure we cover in the back end."

Following the sack-fumble and Arizona's first timeout, Greenard chased Murray's tail off and managed to knock him down in bounds only 3 yards past the line of scrimmage. It caused the Cardinals to burn their second timeout and set up a desperate heave on fourth down to Harrison that Griffin intercepted.

"You're on your last breath, and we need it," Greenard shared what he was thinking on that sequence.

Trying to contain Murray is difficult. Trying to do it after fighting a sickness all week is beyond belief.

"He was pretty congested and kind of feeling a head cold or whatever it was, and to play that many snaps and give it everything he's got," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said, "He forced the ball out there earlier in the sequence and then I really took the timeout there on fourth down to see if we [could] get him back in there because he was gassed and really left everything out on the field there.

"J.G. has been huge for us all season long," O'Connell added, hinting that his 10 sacks don't tell the full story of his impact. "You can look at a lot of metrics and stats and things. I just know the guy has been an incredibly impactful player on our defense, on our organization and very fortunate to have him here."

Greenard, like Griffin, and others are closing with a winner's mentality – and it's breeding great results.

"I guess we're starting to pick up on something when it comes to finishing games," Griffin asserted.

The Vikings squashed in the red zone five Cardinals possessions that lasted 10-plus plays, including two that trekked more than 85 yards, and held them to five field goals and 15 points rather than possibly 35.

"That's something that we try to pride ourselves on," said Van Ginkel. "Any time you can hold a team to three points, that's a four-point swing, and if they get touchdowns [in those situations], it's a blowout."

The buckling down in the tight quarters is a testament to Minnesota's communication on defense and awareness of certain Arizona players, such as tight end Trey McBride, who had a game-high 12 catches.

Murphy said the Vikings knew where Murray wanted to go with the ball in that area; Greenard said the Vikings looked for clues. They honed in on details when they were tired, and found the right answers.

"It just shows the type of work we do before these games," said Griffin, whose experience against Murray dates to meetings in 2019-20 when Murray was emerging and Griffin was part of Seattle's secondary.

Griffin stated that Murray is the type of player that can beat the game plan: "You can say, 'Hey, man, Kyler's gonna run around, don't let him out of the pocket,' [and] he still might get out of the pocket."

Murray aided an Arizona rushing attack that bellied up for 154 yards on 31 carries (5.0 avg.). The dual-threat QB rushed seven times, mainly on scrambles, for 48 yards, and James Conner had 68 on 17.

"I'm not going to lie. I was tired," Murphy said of sticking in coverage when Murray was freelancing. "He was definitely making some plays. I had to make sure I locked in on the next one — if I was tired or not."

Murphy did that and then some.

The homegrown 2019 Cardinals draft pick intercepted Murray near the start of the fourth quarter, after Murray bided time with a 360 and threw off his back foot. Murphy also was credited with three pass breakups.

Murphy's pick set the dinner table for Griffin's – and ensured that Minnesota had a takeaway in each of its first 12 games to start a season for the first time since 2001 when it did so in 13 consecutive games.

"That's my guy. That's my bro," Murphy said. "[I] had to go out there and compete, and show him, 'Don't come to my side.' " (Murphy joked afterwards he wanted to say thanks but didn't see Murray postgame.)

Murray ultimately passed for 260 yards on a season-high 45 attempts, which is 19 more than the most he had in a game this season entering the Week 13 affair. His top target, McBride, produced 96 yards.

"He's going to be really good in this league for a long time," Cashman said about McBride.

"He's willing to stick his head in there and block, get physical, but he's also very athletic," Cashman continued, praising his ability to separate at the top of routes. "[He's] really good at using leverage."

Greenard acknowledged that Murray did a "fairly good job of staying in the pocket" and "didn't try to extend too much, and create negative plays," but that, eventually, Arizona had to be less conservative.

Minnesota's one-point lead backed the Cardinals into a corner and shined a light on Vikings playmakers.

They handled the rest.

"I know we always tend to make things close, but we do that on purpose for the viewers," Griffin quipped in the locker room, adding, "I wish I could say we did that on purpose for the entertainment."

The unscripted execution – the denial of Murray and Arizona in crunch time – was riveting.

"This group is different," said Griffin. "I feel like nobody can stop us."