Offensive coordinator Norv Turner doesn't expect the extreme cold to largely affect the Vikings' play-calling in Sunday's wild-card game against Seattle at TCF Bank Stadium.
After 31 years of NFL experience and 15 as a head coach, Turner has learned that the best strategy in these conditions often is to stick to your offense. Sunday's forecast high is 5 degrees and sunny with a low of minus-4 and winds up to 8 mph.
"I'll try not to let it affect play-calling," Turner said. "The games I've been in, in this type of situation, we try to keep it the way we [usually] play the game. And I've, through the years, been fortunate to be in games like this where we throw the ball pretty well and have been pretty aggressive.
"We've got to go run our offense."
Though cold-weather games tend to benefit run-first teams, Turner doesn't expect to rely on Adrian Peterson more than usual.
"We need to create a balance against [Seattle]. They're awfully good if you're one-dimensional," Turner said.
The Seahawks defense shut down the Vikings' run game in early December and ran away with a 38-7 victory.
"We know the [really cold] games tend to be lower-scoring," Turner added. "There aren't as many explosive plays."
