Goals from Ross Stewart, Chris Maguire and Denver Hume were enough for the Black Cats, who sealed a 3-1 win over the Pilgrims.
Stewart opened the scoring in the first half with Maguire’s penalty and Hume’s calm finish then sealing the win after Joe Edwards had levelled the scores.
It was a result that not only ended a seven-game winless run for the club, but also secured their place in the League One play-offs.
Sunderland were largely dominant in the South West but were undoubtedly boost by Jerome Opoku’s second half red card – from which point it was virtually one-way traffic.
But who were the star performers at Home Park, and who has work to do ahead of the final week of the regular season?
Our chief football writer Phil Smith has dished out his marks from the match – see how each player fared in the vital victory.