EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Among the first challenges waiting for Mike Zimmer when he became the Minnesota Vikings' head coach in January 2014 was the task of turning a team with an abysmal outdoor record into a club that could be successful in TCF Bank Stadium for two seasons. Zimmer almost immediately rejected the premise the Vikings couldn't turn the 52,000-seat college stadium into a suitable home-field advantage, saying early on the Vikings would embrace the environment before moving into their new home in 2016.

Barring a home playoff game that would come with an NFC North division title, the Vikings will play their last game at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday night against the New York Giants. They'll exit as an anomaly, becoming the only team since the AFL-NFL merger to improve in both seasons as a temporary home, and as they prepare to move back indoors when U.S. Bank Stadium opens next year, the Vikings will be able to look back at TCF Bank Stadium with fond memories.

Adrian Peterson and the Vikings will probably play their last game at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday night. The home of the University of Minnesota has been unexpectedly kind to the Vikings over two seasons. Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

"I know this could be our last home game there, but they've done a great job for these two years -- it's gone by fast, actually," Zimmer said. "Our fans have been great, hopefully they'll be great again Sunday night and go out the right way outdoors, so it'll be fun."

The Vikings are 10-5 at home over the last two seasons and have won five of their first seven games at the University of Minnesota this season. They had gone 1-6-1 in their previous eight home games before moving into the stadium and had won just six of their previous 35 outdoor games before last season. And while they haven't had many frigid days at the stadium -- Sunday night figures to be their second-coldest home game of the last two years, with temperatures still in the mid-teens -- they've shown they can win away from climate-controlled environs.

"For us, it's been great," running back Adrian Peterson said. "It's kind of taken us back to the old-school Vikings, playing outside and having that outside element attached to it. But great fans are great fans. They come out and support us, whether it's 10 degrees or 20 degrees. It's a wonderful facility there, especially with the upgrades they made to the field [in 2014] and things like that. We made it our home."

Peterson isn't so fond of it that he'd prefer to stay, though.

"I can't wait for next year, to be getting back indoors," he said.

If the Vikings manage to win the NFC North, they'll come back to the stadium for at least one January playoff game. That wouldn't even be a possibility if they hadn't been able to win consistently at TCF Bank Stadium.

"I feel like our fans at home have done a great job of making it a harsh environment for our opponents," defensive end Brian Robison said. "Our fans have always been good at that. I think for us, it's about, no matter where we play, we've got to make it an advantage for us."