Continued: Vikings weighing options to play without Winfield

Although coach Brad Childress won't tip his hand about whether Antoine Winfield will play Sunday against Pittsburgh, all signs point to the Pro Bowl cornerback being out for at least one game because of a sprained right foot.

Winfield, who was injured in the second quarter last Sunday against Baltimore, missed a second consecutive day of practice Thursday and continues to wear a walking boot. He could be given three weeks to recuperate if he is held out this Sunday and Nov. 1 at Green Bay. The Vikings have their bye the following Sunday.

Childress, however, said Winfield is "as tough as they come" and would make the trip to Pittsburgh this weekend. "If there's anybody that has a chance [to play and not practice] because of the notes he takes and how he looks at teams, it's him," Childress said. "But at some point you have to warm up and move around."

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said the Vikings would look at all options at left corner if Winfield can't play. Karl Paymah, who replaced Winfield last week, could start. Paymah, though, struggled at times and the coaching staff might want to shift nickel back Benny Sapp to the starting job and insert rookie Asher Allen into the nickel role. Frazier admitted he would prefer to leave Sapp playing inside on passing downs.

Frazier knows he's going to need his defense to perform much better than it did in the fourth quarter last week when the Ravens accumulated 222 of their 448 yards.

"I showed the players the tape," Frazier said. "They're dominating that game for long stretches and then all of a sudden that last 10 minutes was a bad dream. ... We obviously have some things that we have to correct and we have to help some guys in our secondary to get to where they need to be to help us to play the way we want to play throughout. This is the week to get it done because [the Steelers] are throwing it around the park and having a lot of success throwing the football."

The Steelers are ranked second in the NFL in passing offense and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leads the league with 1,887 yards passing.

Linebacker Ben Leber usually comes out in nickel situations -- fellow linebackers E.J. Henderson and Chad Greenway remain on the field -- but Frazier said that might change Sunday. "We discussed that and we're going to do some things to hopefully get him on the field," Frazier said. "He's a valuable part of what we do on defense but at the same time so is E.J., so is Chad. Those guys have been playing at a high level for us, but we want to be able to do some things where E.J.'s reps aren't so high that in December you end up paying the consequences for it."

Adrian Peterson was limited in practice for a second consecutive day Thursday after turning his left ankle in the fourth quarter against Baltimore, but the Pro Bowl running back isn't concerned. Peterson, who leads the NFL in rushing, said the ankle is "feeling pretty good" but he did admit it was scary to see a replay of how he twisted it as he was taken to the ground. "It was kind of scary to see but it was like God bless ... I woke up the next morning and it was feeling great," Peterson said. "It was a little sore but from what you saw on film, it could have been a lot worse."

Wide receiver Percy Harvin (shoulder) also was limited again. If Harvin does play, it's not certain he will return kickoffs. Also on the injury report are safeties Husain Abdullah (back), Eric Frampton (ankle) and Madieu Williams (quadriceps), right tackle Phil Loadholt (ankle) and wide receiver Darius Reynaud (hamstring).

• The Steelers are replacing some of Heinz Field's grass only three games into the season. Workers tore up the areas between the hash marks and put down new grass this week, in time for the South Florida-Pittsburgh game on Saturday and the Vikings-Steelers game Sunday.