The Vikings knew they'd have opportunities to attack an Arizona offensive line that had allowed 22 sacks in its previous three games.
No player was more set up for a big afternoon than left defensive end Brian Robison, who drew a Sunday matchup against rookie right tackle Bobby Massie.
Robison capitalized with three sacks. On the first, he looped around Massie and hit Cardinals quarterback John Skelton from behind, forcing a fumble that Kevin Williams recovered.
That takeaway allowed the Vikings to escape unscathed after Arizona had marched from their own 12 to the Vikings 14 on a 14-play drive that ate up more than 8 minutes.
Robison got to Skelton again in the second and fourth quarters.
"Brian had a terrific game," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "We worked all week long, [defensive line coach] Brendan Daly did, with our D-line with what we thought our best rushes were against their offensive line."
Jared Allen recorded two sacks, and has six in his past five games. He spent part of the postgame counting several others he narrowly missed, including one in the third quarter in which Skelton avoided the sack with a crafty shovel pass to William Powell.
"Our guys rushed well today playing off each other," Allen said. "And the more you get in that groove, the more you'll have games like that."