EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Byron Murphy, Jr., was ready when the ball popped through Theo Johnson's fingertips.

Giants QB Jaxon Dart had targeted his tight end, but Johnson couldn't secure it; instead, Murphy secured the interception and returned it 15 yards to the New York 16-yard line.

"I knew the quarterback was trying to get the ball out quick, and the coverage allowed me to go out and make a play on the ball," Murphy said following the Vikings 16-13 defeat of the Giants. "Tips and overthrows, you've gotta come up with those, so I made the play."

Murphy's pick capped a series that went as follows:

— Levi Drake Rodriguez sack of Dart

— Isaiah Rodgers pass breakup and QB hit by Andrew Van Ginkel

— Delay of game penalty by New York

"It definitely just shows that once this defense gets going, we can go out there and make plays — and that's everybody on this defense," Murphy said.

Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who had a sack erased when it was ruled a roughing the passer penalty, added it creates "a lot of juice" when Minnesota can string together defensive plays like it did.

"It kind of ignites things, and that's what we're looking to do," Smith said.

The Vikings scored their sole touchdown of the day following Murphy's interception, thanks to a run and reception by Aaron Jones, Sr., and QB J.J. McCarthy scrambling 12 yards into the end zone for a 13-3 lead — thanks to a block by Jones.

"We played really, really good defense all day long," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Did enough, from a standpoint of third down, fighting through some injuries … really good individual sequences, but the defense as a whole, that's their game ball right there for what they were able to do.

"Just a really, really impressive performance by them," O'Connell added.

Though the Vikings did allow the Giants at times to move the ball — particularly on the ground, as they totaled 128 yards rushing — they made stands at critical moments. Minnesota held New York to just 2-for-10 on third downs Sunday, and 1-for-3 on fourth downs.

The Vikings did anticipate a heavy dose of runs and knew they'd have to slow down the ground attack to get after Dart and the passing game.

"It starts with stopping the run, and if we're not doing that at a high level — it's something we've kind of struggled with at different points throughout the year, and they're able to stick to their game plan," Van Ginkel said. "[We were in] a defensive battle, trying to win a low-scoring game."

Giants running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr., led the team in rushing with 16 carries for 71 yards, followed by Devin Singletary's 47 yards on 11 attempts, but New York wasn't allowed a rushing score.

Dart felt the Vikings presence throughout the afternoon, finishing his day just 7-of-13 passing for 33 yards, no touchdowns and the interception. His passer rating was 27.4.

In the first half, the Vikings limited the Giants to minus-4 net passing yards, the fewest yards they've allowed in a first half since 2000. New York's 76 total yards in those first two quarters were the fewest allowed by the Vikings in a first half since 2021 when Minnesota limited Pittsburgh to 66.

The Vikings sacked Dart five times; in addition to Rodriguez, Jonathan Allen, Jalen Redmond, Eric Wilson and Van Ginkel also had takedowns. The final by Gink' essentially sealed the game for Minnesota.

"It's all about beating the guy in front of you and trying to apply pressure and get the quarterback any way possible," he said.

Wilson now leads the Vikings in sacks on the season with 6.5; Redmond is just behind him with 6.0.

Smith said it's "pretty cool" that two defenders who started their NFL careers as undrafted free agents have played so well for the team this season.

"Jalen, he's come on pretty quick; we saw it last year, and he's just playing awesome in every phase of the game," Smith said. "And then E-Wil, he's pretty special to me because I saw him as a rookie and he was a pretty good player. Then he got an opportunity to come back here and is having probably the best season of his career, splash plays after splash plays. Tough plays. Unbelievable things you might not even see in the run game."

Blake Cashman once again led the Vikings in tackles, racking up 16 at MetLife Stadium. His 117 tackles so far this season are already a career high, and Sunday marked his eighth game with 10-plus this year; Cashman joined Chad Greenway (2012) as the only Viking to accomplish the feat since at least 1987.

The Vikings know they've been eliminated from the postseason, but they don't plan on letting their foot off the gas as they prep for their final two games.

That starts with a quick turnaround ahead of Thursday, when they'll host the Lions for a Christmas Day contest. The finale also features a divisional matchup when the Packers visit U.S. Bank Stadium in January.

"We just want to play spoiler," Murphy said. "That's what it is. But we definitely know it's a division game. We know what this team (Detroit) is all about — really, the next two for us. We're taking it week by week, still taking it game by game, and we want to get the job done."

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