Temperatures well below freezing, maybe nasty winds, but Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t want to get out his Christmas present for the endurance exercise in the Kansas City cold chamber. NFL legend Dan Marino presented the Miami Dolphins quarterback and his teammates with warm gloves for the holidays, but football star Tagovailoa will likely do without them this weekend against the Chiefs.

The temperature for Sunday night’s wild-card clash with the defending champions at Arrowhead Stadium is expected to be as low as minus 20 degrees, although it is currently a pleasant 20 degrees plus in Miami. A big change for the visitors, with the cold being their second opponent at the start of the play-offs.

Tagovailoa first wants to test in Missouri how “the ball feels, how it feels to throw, how it feels to hold the ball,” says the Hawaiian. “We’ll test and see what we need to do.” He will “probably” not wear gloves, Tagovailoa said, but he first wants to “see how it feels without them”.

The 25-year-old is not completely new to such Siberian temperatures. “Just under 20”, but “not under 15” is something he has had to endure before, Tagovailoa said, “probably something in between”.

The Chiefs gave their fans advice for the special conditions. They should wear “loose-fitting layers” on their bodies and “cover all exposed skin”. There are nine warm-up stations in the arena, with hot chocolate on sale at the stalls.