PSV came off the back of a devastating 2-0 loss to Ajax, which all but officially eliminated the reigning champions from the title race. The Eindhoven team had to face Groningen without the injured Jerdy Schouten and Sergino Dest. In their places, the recovered Malik Tillman made his return in the starting XI, as did American Richard Ledezma.
Tillman made his presence known early on, expertly curling the ball in the right corner from outside the box to give PSV the lead after just 11 minutes.
Former World Cup finalist Ivan Perisic doubled the visitors' lead 15 minutes later by powerfully heading in a Richard Ledezema cross, catching Groningen stopper Etienne Vaessen off-guard at his near post.
FC Groningen would not back down from the fight and came close on more than one occasion, largely thanks to an excelling Luciano Valente, who controlled the play with his creativity and passing abilities.
The Italian-Dutch midfielder would play a huge part in Groningen's equaliser just six minutes after PSV's 2-0, setting up Dave Kwakman with a perfect defence-splitting pass before his fellow midfielder beat Walter Benitez with a well-timed curled effort.
Stije Resink then came close to the equaliser, but his furious effort was stopped by the Argentine goalkeeper.
A tame second half saw Groningen have more trouble creating chances against PSV and concede a third with just 15 minutes to go, but Luuk de Jong's goal was ruled out for offside.
PSV would eventually get their third goal as Johan Bakayoko would head in a loose ball in the 88th minute.
With the win, PSV kept the gap of five points to Feyenoord intact after their 1-0 win over AZ earlier on Saturday. FC Groningen slid down the Eredivisie standings with a loss, dropping to tenth and outside the playoff spots.