PHILADELPHIA — An entire stadium belting out “Fly, Eagles, Fly!” might well ring in the Washington Commanders’ ears into an offseason that will seem endless. This group advanced to Sunday’s NFC championship game by unrelentingly moving on to the next game, the next drive, the next play — regardless of what just happened. It got them to within a game of the Super Bowl.

Now, the next game isn’t until September. Now, the next snap will be during spring workouts. Now, it all comes with expectations. This unlikely romp through a transformative season — and then deep into the playoffs — ended with Sunday’s thorough 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, where the green-clad home fans sang deliriously. For them, it served as a stepping stone to the Eagles’ third Super Bowl in eight seasons.

For the Commanders, the NFC championship game — their first in 33 years — suddenly serves as the floor. The renaissance season — when rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels arrived as a gift, when new general manager Adam Peters remade a roster riddled with holes, when first-year coach Dan Quinn established a locker room vibe that is unshakable — was and always will be 2024. That trio — and everyone in the team’s Ashburn, Virginia headquarters — didn’t just overhaul what’s possible in the future. They overhauled what will be expected.

Consider how Commanders fans will wake up on Monday morning. They could rue the four uncharacteristic turnovers that squashed any chances of a comeback from a deficit that was in double digits for the entire second half. They will mutter about the play of cornerback Marshon Lattimore, the midseason acquisition who seemed to be giving up a catch or committing a penalty with every breath. They might wonder what the Commanders were doing in repeatedly jumping offsides in the fourth quarter with the Eagles on the brink of a score. They might even have that Philadelphia rallying cry — the singsongy “Fly, Eagles, Fly!” — playing on continuous loop in their heads.

But they also will have an unfamiliar but undeniable feeling headed into 2025: Optimism.

Daniels provides that, because his rookie season was among the best of all-time, even if he ultimately couldn’t become the first rookie quarterback to reach the Super Bowl. Peters provides that, because his first attempt at constructing a roster showed he has an eye for talent and a feel for people. Quinn provides that, because he has created a standard to which the Commanders hold themselves — and a locker room of players eager to tell you how they bought in.

And Josh Harris — rued in Philadelphia as the carpetbagging owner of the NBA’s 76ers, adored in Washington as the local boy who’s an agent of change — provides more optimism still. The still-new Commanders owner has empowered Peters to bring in the players he wants and Quinn to coach them up as he sees fit. After nearly a quarter-century of toxic mismanagement by former owner Daniel Snyder, this all remains refreshing.

What stings is what played out Sunday. So much of what put the Commanders in this spot — the reason they had this opportunity in the first place — completely evaporated. In their first two playoff games, wins at Tampa Bay and Detroit that were the first postseason victories for the franchise in 19 years, they did not turn the ball over. Against the Eagles, they coughed it up twice in the first half, then once each in the third and fourth quarters as they tried to scratch back. They were defined all season by their unified, disciplined, calm-in-the-storm approach. Against the Eagles, they frayed.

It resulted in a 27-15 halftime deficit that somehow felt enormous. Washington was gashed on Philadelphia’s first play from scrimmage, a 60-yard, bust-through-everything touchdown sprint from otherworldly running back Saquon Barkley. On the ensuing possession, Washington wide receiver Dyami Brown fumbled as he was running laterally — an effort that could not have gained any more yards. Eagles linebacker Zack Baun punched the ball out.

Washington’s steadfastness, a trademark of Quinn’s program, eventually showed up, and Terry McLaurin’s tackle-breaking, drag-a-guy-into-the-end-zone catch-and-run pulled the Commanders within 14-12.

Three first-half plays, though, dug the Commanders deeper.

On fourth and five, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts floated a perfect ball down the left sideline to wideout A.J. Brown, who had toasted Lattimore. That was good for 31 yards and a drive-sustaining first down.

Three plays later, Lattimore obviously and egregiously interfered with receiver DeVonta Smith in the end zone, giving the Eagles a layup of a first-and-goal-from-the-one situation. Hurts scored for a 20-12 lead — after which Lattimore melted down, confronting Brown and drawing a personal foul penalty.

The Commanders acquired Lattimore in a midseason trade precisely to cover the likes of Brown and Smith, two of the best receivers in the league. That he couldn’t do so effectively — and then couldn’t compose himself when he failed — was the rare instance of a 2024 Commander straying from the common mission.

Still, Daniels would have a chance to pull even before the half. Instead, Washington’s Jeremy McNichols fumbled the kickoff. Instead, Hurts found Brown for a short touchdown pass to end a short seven-play drive. Instead, the Commanders did well to scramble for a late field goal. Instead, the halftime deficit was 12 — more than Washington had trailed by at the half in any game this season.

There were glimpses of life in the second half. Daniels’s 10-yard scamper and ensuing two-point conversion pass helped Washington pull within 34-23 with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter.

But no. Barkley was too much, finishing with 118 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Hurts — questioned over the past few weeks, about both his health and his play — was too much, throwing for 246 yards and a score, and running for three touchdowns of his own. Lincoln Financial Field was too much, the kind of cauldron the Commanders would like their home field to be in future Januarys, when they might be good enough to host playoff games.

Sunday evening, they weren’t good enough. So the offseason arrives with two polar opposites being true: The moment was disappointing, their only blowout loss of the season coming on a gigantic stage. But the future is bright enough that another NFC championship game appearance won’t be met simply with unbridled joy. The season is over, but there’s a new standard in Washington. Embrace everything that comes with it.