This was, arguably, the toughest road trip in Washington Redskins history.

Fifty-three Redskins players and a few hundred staff members stepped off their charter flight from Washington to Miami International Airport on Monday morning, most of them in stylish dark suits, a No. 21 pin on their left lapels, their weary eyes hidden behind expensive sunglasses. They boarded six buses, bound for Pharmed Arena at Florida International University, where their 24-year-old murdered teammate, Sean Taylor, waited in a casket.

One by one, the broad-shouldered Redskins entered the somber arena and settled into their folding chairs, where they watched a highlight video of Taylor's playing days -- first in his blue and white Gulliver Prep uniform, then his orange and green University of Miami jersey, and finally, in Redskins' burgundy and gold.

The Redskins are used to watching game footage on Mondays, but not this kind of footage, the kind that rips their hearts in two. By the end of the nearly three-hour service, several of the Redskins were in tears. Others admitted they were emotionally drained. On this day, there was no macho bravado. Just honest pain.

Coach Joe Gibbs told the audience of thousands that he often pictured God looking down at Taylor during Redskins games, and proclaiming, ''Man, I made a great football player.'' The coach went on to say he had watched Taylor mature over the past four years, turn to religion, and become a devoted father to his 18-month-old daughter, Jackie, who waddled around in front of her daddy's casket Monday, waving a funeral program, oblivious to the grief that surrounded her.

The baby was wearing a burgundy dress, her dad's team color.

The next Redskins tribute came from Clinton Portis, one of Taylor's best friends and a former UM teammate. He brought the house down when he said: ``Nobody played with more heart than Sean Taylor.''

SPECIAL BOND

Portis talked about the special bond he shared with fellow Hurricanes Taylor and Santana Moss, how the three of them were always the last to leave the locker room before games, how they always wished each other luck before games with a handshake or a high-five. He said Taylor was a locker room motivator. 'If anyone complained that they were tired after practice, Sean would say, `We've only been out there an hour and a half, c'mon.' What can I say about a man I admired so much, a man who means so much to me?''

The Redskins had memorialized Taylor on the first play of Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. They lined up with only 10 men on defense, instead of 11. It was their way of saying that he was still on the field with them. Washington lost the game 17-16, but it was the absence of Taylor that hurt more than the score.

BLOCKING OUT GRIEF

''Sunday was one of the toughest games of my life, actually, one of the toughest days of my life,'' Redskins defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said after the funeral as he headed back to the bus. ``It was so hard to get motivated for a football game when we had such heavier things on our hearts and minds, but we chose this profession, and we have to keep on playing.''

The Redskins must now try to put the funeral behind them and focus on Thursday night's game against the Chicago Bears.

Asked how he'll be able to block out his grief, Griffin replied: ``We don't have a choice. Plus, we have to play for Sean. This is what he'd want.''

Milling around near the Redskins' team buses after the funeral were a few dozen fans, decked in maroon and gold. They weren't friends of Taylor's, never spent one minute with him, but they felt compelled to be there.

Jeremiah and Nicole Wingo, and their friends D.J. Brown and Amber Dunsmore, drove five hours from New Port Richey to attend the funeral. They all had D.C. ties, and are diehard Redskins fans. Jeremiah wore a Redskins jersey over his dress shirt and tie. Brown wore a Redskins visor.

SHOWING RESPECT

''Even though I never met Sean, I felt like a brother had died and I wanted to come out of respect for him,'' Jeremiah Wingo said.

Added Dunsmore: ``We wanted to learn what kind of man he really was, and we did.''

Joey Kernisky, a bartender from Cutler Ridge, had gotten off work at 4 a.m. and was going on three hours' sleep. But the Washington native is a lifelong Redskins fan and had become a huge fan of Taylor's. He wore a No. 36 jersey (Taylor's number as a rookie) and said attending the funeral was a cathartic experience.

''I felt a spiritual evolvement in there, just looking around and seeing all the love that can fill a room, listening to the music, learning more about the black community and the very religious culture Sean came from,'' Kernisky said. ``Sean obviously touched the people who knew him in a much deeper way than he touched us fans, but being here allowed me to see peace amongst people, and I think I leave a better person. Hopefully, some good can come from this tragedy and we can spread the love.''

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