PHILADELPHIA — A group of Washington Commanders executives walked into the locker room wearing nice jackets and sullen expressions. A solemn line of players followed. “This is our f—— city!” a Philadelphia Eagles fan screamed.

The players said nothing. They looked stunned and beat up. Principal owner Josh Harris put an arm around running back Austin Ekeler. A teammate patted quarterback Jayden Daniels on the shoulder. Someone knocked over a clipboard, and when it fell to the ground, clattering off the concrete walls, no one reacted.

“Zach!” a voice yelled. Tight end Zach Ertz looked up to see former Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, with whom he’d won Super Bowl LII. Ertz hugged his old friend. Cox whispered in his ear for a moment, and then Ertz, face blank, walked back to his team.

In the locker room, coach Dan Quinn told his players to enjoy the moment together. The players were hurt. They believed they were better than the 55-23 loss that ended their season one game short of the Super Bowl. But they knew Quinn was right. The front office had built a bridge roster with veterans on short, cheap contracts. There were going to be lots of changes over the next few months.

Many weren’t ready to let go of the magical season. They had defied low expectations, nurtured a star quarterback and restored pride to the franchise. They had helped the D.C. area fall back in love with football. They had let fans dare to dream. “The biggest thing [we did],” defensive end Clelin Ferrell told reporters, “is what I feel like teams here in the past haven’t done, which is believe in themselves.”

General manager Adam Peters walked from player to player, shaking hands, giving hugs and thanking them for their hard work. “Love you,” more than one told him.

A pack of cameras with shining lights circled the room. Players spoke in low voices about sadness and hope and gratitude. “It’s just tough because this is a really close locker room,” wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who had struggled again, blamed the loss on the team’s minus-four turnover margin — “and that’s really it,” he said. He said his fight with Eagles receiver A.J. Brown “is what it is.”

The locker room started to empty. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. walked out quickly in an all-black sweatsuit. Tight end John Bates followed in a “Boise” hat. Cornerback Mike Sainristil in an oversize, gray-and-white beanie.

Daniels sat at his corner locker and scrolled through his phone. He had just given a news conference in which he had said, with watery eyes, “I don’t want to ever feel like this again.” He talked quietly to senior manager of football communications Charlie Mule. He had carried his team, flawed but full of belief, as far as he could.

Around the room, teammates were talking about him, acknowledging he could be special.

“I wish I was 22 playing with him,” Ertz, 34, said. “[I wish I] had my whole career in front of me playing with them.”

The players started to leave quickly. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong, left tackle Brandon Coleman, punter Tress Way. On his way out, safety Percy Butler walked over to McLaurin.

“I appreciate you,” Butler said.

“I appreciate the way you work, man,” McLaurin replied. “Keep grinding, bro. If you need anything, hit me up.”

The locker room was nearly empty. The only noise was soft chatter. Players pushed luxury suitcases out the door. Equipment staffers hustled cardboard boxes full of gear bags toward the buses. A locker room attendant moved a large, orange crate marked “used towels.”

The end of the dream sounded a lot like squeaky wheels on carpet.

There were just four players left. Right tackle Andrew Wylie and center Tyler Biadasz stood near the door, looking sore and exhausted, as they waited for left guard Nick Allegretti to finish talking to a few reporters. The friend group looked incomplete without right guard Sam Cosmi, who didn’t travel after tearing his ACL the weekend before.

The last player in the locker room was linebacker Bobby Wagner. He was one of the team’s oldest players and certainly its most accomplished. He had been, since his arrival, a symbol of change, and over the last four months, his words and actions and relationships, most notably with Daniels, helped the team establish a new standard.