NBC to Air NFL WILD CARD GAME This Sunday

NBC kicks off its coverage of the 2015 NFL playoffs this Sunday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. ET with an NFC Wild Card matchup, when Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (NFC West, 10-6) visit Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota VIKINGS (NFC North, 11-5) at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. NBC's NFL Wild Card coverage on Saturday begins at Noon ET with a special edition of Football Night In America.

The game will mark the first outdoor NFL playoff game in Minnesota since the VIKINGS won the 1976 NFC Championship Game (December 26, 1976, 24-13 over the Los Angeles Rams). That game, played at Metropolitan Stadium, had a kickoff temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

Last week on NBC's Sunday Night Football, the VIKINGS clinched the NFC North title with a 20-13 win over the rival Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The VIKINGS led the Packers 13-3 in the third quarter, before cornerback Captain Munnerlyn returned a fumble 55 yards for the game-winning points. Peterson, who ran for a touchdown in Sunday's game, won his third NFL rushing title, finishing the season with 1,485 yards.

Wilson set two franchise records for the two-time defending NFC Champion Seahawks in their 36-6 win against the Cardinals last Sunday, passing for the most yards (4,024) and touchdowns (34) in a single season. In December, the last meeting between the two teams, Seattle defeated Minnesota 38-7.

Calling Seahawks-Vikings are seven-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 30th season as THE VOICE of the NFL's premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his six seasons in the SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL booth; and two-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.

Collinsworth played in the second-coldest NFL game on record as his Cincinnati Bengals won the 1981 AFC Championship Game 27-7 over the San Diego Chargers. That game, known as the "Freezer Bowl," was played at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati with a kickoff temperature of -9 degrees (-59 degrees with windchill).

NBC's coverage of SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL is led by Emmy Award-winning producer Fred Gaudelli and Emmy Award-winning director Drew Esocoff.

Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports, is hosted by 26-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from TFC Bank Stadium. Costas will be joined on site by Collinsworth, Tafoya, and two-time SUPER BOWL winner Hines Ward.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time SUPER BOWL winner Rodney Harrison, Mike Florio of PRO FOOTBALL TALK on NBCSN and NBCSports.com, and NFL Insider Peter King.

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