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RENTON, Wash. -- Forecasts for Sunday's game between the Seattle Seahawks and Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium in Minnesota have game-time temperatures expected to be close to zero degrees Fahrenheit. Weather.com predicts a high temperature of 1 degree on Sunday with lows of minus-8 degrees. Winds are expected to blow up to 12 miles per hour, creating wind-chill factors beyond minus-10 degrees.
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It will easily be the coldest game ever played in Seahawks franchise history. The current record holder was a December 1992 game against the Denver Broncos when kickoff temperature was 13 degrees. Only three times in franchise history has Seattle played games in sub-20 degree temperatures. A 2006 game in Denver was 16 degrees and a trip to Lambeau Field in 2009 against the Green Bay Packers was 18 degrees.
Sunday's game in Minneapolis will be the first game Seattle has ever played in single-digit temperatures, or worse.
"You're not worried about the weather, you're worried about those 11 guys trying to take your head off," running back Fred Jackson said, who played nine seasons in Buffalo. "You'll forget about the weather soon. It's one of those things you just have to realize you're not the only one playing in the cold so just go out there and play."
Linebacker Bobby Wagner played his college ball at Utah State in Logan, Utah. He frequently played games in frigid temperatures and vividly remembers the worst experience in the cold weather.
Wagner said the game had temperatures around seven degrees with snow and players had to rely on unusual means to cope with the weather.
"It was wet. We had to wear bags on our feet and our hands so we didn't get wet. I'm pretty sure it can't get worse than that. Or maybe it can," Wagner said. "We had plastic bags so water wouldn't get through our cleats and get to our hands to try to stay warm. Do whatever you can to try to stay warm."
The Seahawks are practicing this week with the doors of their indoor practice facility open to make the experience as cold as possible. However, temperatures in the Seattle area will be the 40s all week.
--In the first meeting with the Vikings in early December, Adrian Peterson was held to just 18 yards on eight carries by Seattle's defense.
Minnesota couldn't sustain drives offensively as Seattle took a 21-0 lead in the first half. The large deficit forced the Vikings to shelve the league's leading rusher for most of the game and put the comeback attempt in the hands of Teddy Bridgewater instead.
Stopping Peterson will still be priority number one for the Seahawks this week. However, they don't expect it to be nearly as easy this time around.
"I don't think we kept him in check, they weren't able to run the ball a lot," Carroll said. "There's not any misconception of what happened in that game to us at all. We think he's an incredible football player. They know how to give it to him and they're going to do that. That was a game that just happens once in a while. That was not an indication of anything that's going to come."
The Seahawks have had success against Peterson in the past. In four games against Seattle, Peterson has gained over 100 yards just once. His only standout performance against the Seahawks was in 2012 when Peterson rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-20 victory in Seattle.
The Vikings have not won in three meetings against a Carroll-led Seahawks team. Seattle finished as the top-ranked rushing defense in the league this season, allowing just 81.5 yards per game.
"You can't expect a guy like that to get eight touches again," linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "They're going to find different ways, whether it's handing him the ball off, getting him screens or checking down to him. I definitely feel like he's going to try to have a bigger presence in this game and we're going to do our best to stop him."
--WR Tyler Lockett (hip) did not practice on Wednesday. Carroll did not mention Lockett having an issue during his press conference on Wednesday and Lockett played all of last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
--DE Michael Bennett (toe) did not practice on Wednesday. He continues to get at least a day off a week to rest a bothersome toe that required an injection last week.
--CB Jeremy Lane (oblique) was limited in practice on Wednesday after leaving midway through Sunday's game. Carroll seemed optimistic about Lane's chances to play. "He was already working today, so he's on his way back," Carroll said.
--LT Russell Okung (calf) was limited in practice on Wednesday. Carroll said he was "very optimistic" that Okung would be able to play Sunday.
--RG J.R. Sweezy (concussion) was limited in practice on Wednesday. Carroll said he was "very optimistic" that Sweezy would be able to play Sunday.
--TE Luke Willson (concussion) was limited in practice on Wednesday. Carroll said he was "very optimistic" that Willson would be able to play Sunday.
--SS Kam Chancellor (pelvis) was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. "All of those guys are returning to us, so it's a real boost for us with the guys coming back, if they're able to get through the week," Carroll said.
