EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings held one final team meeting on Monday to wrap up the 2016 season.

It was short and sweet, according to Vikings defensive end Brian Robison. And it came with a tinge of disappointment of how the year unfolded.

"We discussed things we need to do throughout the offseason," Robison said. "We just have to work hard.

"We understand we have a team that can get some things done," he added. "It's just a matter of going out there and doing it."

The Vikings sustained a myriad of injuries early on but started the season with five straight wins. Minnesota then had its bye week and couldn't find its footing, losing four straight and eight of 11 games to be bounced from the playoff race.

And even though the Vikings ended their season with Sunday's 38-10 win over the Bears, there was a feeling of wanting more for next season.

"Obviously it was good to get a win yesterday just to go out on a winning note," said Vikings safety Harrison Smith. "But the message was, '8-8 is not good enough.' We're not here to be mediocre; we're not here to just make the playoffs.

"We're here to continue and to chase the Super Bowl," he added. "This year wasn't good enough."

Minnesota had seven total games against five teams who made the playoffs this season. Much like their season, the Vikings started hot with three wins over future playoff teams in the Packers, Giants and Texans.

But the Vikings then faltered over the final part of the season, losing a pair of games to Detroit and one each to Green Bay and Dallas.

"You look at the teams we beat the first five weeks of the year … we beat the Giants pretty handily," Robison said. "We beat the Texans, they're a good football team.

"It's just a matter of staying healthy, and sometimes that doesn't happen," he added. "And then down the stretch, even when we face that adversity, we've got to make the plays."

The Vikings playoff chances vanished with a Week 16 loss in Green Bay, but Minnesota's hopes were damaged the previous week with a 34-6 home loss to the Colts.

"We didn't get it done this year, and I think everybody's kind of frustrated and upset about it," said Vikings left guard Alex Boone. "When you get off to a good start like we did and kind of just skid out of control, it's one of those, 'What was the problem?'

"And you can never really put your finger on the problem, so it drives you nuts," he added. "You have to evaluate a lot of things, and you have to start with yourself, and come back in April ready to roll."

Added Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon: "That was kind of the icing on the cake for us when we lost that one. It was tough. It's tough anytime your season ends."

From Weeks 9 to 13, a span of five games, the Vikings went 1-4, with the four losses coming by a combined 17 points.

The Vikings lost twice to the Lions by a combined nine points, were defeated by six points at Washington and lost by two points at home to the Cowboys, who ended up as the top seed in the NFC.

Robison said the games against Detroit and Washington gnaw at him the most.

"We went over the scenarios in our head. You look at both Detroit games, those were opportunities we had a chance to win those ball games," Robison said. "You look at when we went to Washington. They were able to jump out on us but we were able to fight back and just wasn't able to get plays done at the end of the game.

"You can look at two of those three games, those were opportunities we had to probably get into the playoffs," he added.

The Lions finished the season at 9-7 and claimed the sixth seed in the NFC Playoffs.

A season after finishing 11-5 and winning the NFC North, the Vikings didn't meet their expectations in 2016.

They will now take some time off and rest up, but they know the work for 2017 begins soon.

"I think we have a lot to look forward to next year," McKinnon said. "I'm excited to see what happens this offseason."