MINNEAPOLIS -- For all that went wrong for the Minnesota Vikings on offense in 2016 -- the sudden shift at quarterback triggered by Teddy Bridgewater's seismic knee injury, the loss of Adrian Peterson for most of the year, the torrent of injuries on the offensive line -- there's an argument to be made the team would have returned to the playoffs if it had just turned a couple of short field goals into touchdowns.

After a 5-0 start, the Vikings lost six of their next seven -- and four of those losses were by 6 points or fewer. A missed extra point by Blair Walsh cost them in an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions, yes, but so did a drive on which Sam Bradford hit Stefon Diggs for 5 yards on third-and-6, leaving the Vikings to settle for a 33-yard Walsh field goal. A 3-point Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions saw Kai Forbath kick two field goals inside the red zone, and he kicked two more in a 2-point defeat against the Dallas Cowboys the following Thursday.

Kai Forbath nails one of his two field goals in last Thanksgiving's loss, which could have been a win if the Vikings had converted touchdowns rather than field goals. Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire

Flip any two of those four tight games into wins, and the Vikings -- for all their warts -- are 10-6 and playing in Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. It should be no surprise, then, that coach Mike Zimmer scheduled so much time for the Vikings to work this spring on what held them up last fall.

The Vikings focused on their red-zone woes after a year in which they ranked 28th in the NFL in red-zone efficiency, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They scored touchdowns on just 46 percent of their red-zone drives, and when they got in goal-to-go situations, they weren't much better, ranking 26th in the league with a 61 percent touchdown conversion rate.

"There was a lot of points that was given up there. We spent a lot of time on that," Zimmer said. "We get out here [in practice] and we run plays and we just run plays. We’re not playing the game, and I think it’s important that we continue to learn to play the game, so at the end of the game, everything is nice and smooth, we know what’s going on. Obviously, things are going to happen that you’re not expecting. But maybe we’ll act a little bit different and win some more games."

Of particular interest to the coach was third-down situations in the red zone, where the Vikings saw too many drives turn into field goals. Minnesota faced 76 third downs in the red zone last year, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and converted only 44 of them; their 57.9 conversion percentage was 27th in the league.

"We spent an awful lot of time inside the 5-yard line, team inside the red zone, third downs in the red zone," Zimmer said. "I look at the stats, and you convert a third down in the red zone, you usually get 7 points on either side of the ball, right? Whereas obviously if you don’t get third downs, you kick field goals."

The Vikings' problems in the red zone don't just date back to last year, when their running game was 31st in the league. Even when they had Peterson, it's worth noting how many years they weren't effective at finishing drives. They were in the bottom half of the league in six of Peterson's 10 years with the team; they were 18th during his MVP year in 2012, and in the two most recent years in which he played a majority of the games, they were 19th and 24th.

Erratic quarterback play is a factor here as well, since red-zone touchdown passes often place timing and accuracy at a premium. It's worth noting that of the top 10 teams in red-zone efficiency over the last five years, six have been quarterbacked largely by a former NFL MVP (Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton and Matt Ryan).

Still, the Vikings believe they can be better this season, with a more consistent offensive line, versatile running back group and better chemistry between Sam Bradford and his receivers. As they saw last year, even a small improvement can make a major difference for a team that tends to play plenty of close, low-scoring games.

"It is an area that, going back and looking at last year, we have got to be better," Bradford said. "We have to be more efficient. When we get down there, we have to score touchdowns. We cannot settle for field goals. I think just trying some new concepts down there -- some things that we did well last year, try to find a balance, and maybe a few more new plays down there -- I think it has been great for us to spend the extra time."