MINNEAPOLIS -- For all the talk about the hard playing surface at TCF Bank Stadium, the biggest issue Monday night when the Minnesota Vikings host the Chicago Bears may be the slickness of the field.
The Minneapolis area is expected to get four to six inches of snow from daytime through the end of the game, according to Accuweather.com. All that precipitation on an artificial surface could lead to severe footing problems, which is one reason the Bears moved Saturday's practice to Northwestern University, so they could become better acclimated to playing outside on turf.
The game-time temperature is expected to be 19 degrees with a wind chill of minus-1. Snow began falling at approximately 10 a.m. CT.
All NFL fields have heating coils underneath to combat icy conditions, but because snow tore a hole in the Metrodome roof, the game was moved to TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The school's field does not have heating coils beneath it.
So precipitation falling during the day combined with freezing temperatures could make for dangerous conditions.
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was the latest player to question the playing surface on Sunday.
"The field is as hard as concrete an hour and a half after they took the tarp off, and anyone that hits their head is getting a concussion," he tweeted. "I find it interesting that the NFL can claim an emphasis on player safety, and then tell us the field is fine. It's beyond hypocritical. ... I can only hope, however unlikely, that no one gets catastrophically injured at the trainwreck that's about to take place tomorrow night."
The Bears played the Baltimore Ravens last season in a cold weather game on artificial turf and were blown out 31-7.
