Haynesworth plays through the pain

No man is too gigantic to cry, so there stood 6-foot-6, 335-pound Albert Haynesworth warming up on Soldier Field's grass with his Washington Redskins teammates before their game against the Bears on Sunday.

Tears welled in Haynesworth's eyes as he thought about his half brother, Lance McCoy, who died in a motorcycle accident Oct. 8.

“I could hear my younger brother saying, ‘You're crying over me?'” Haynesworth said. “So I had to dry it up, go out there, be a big brother and play ball.”

He did.

Finally looking like the two-time all-pro defensive lineman whose talent earned him a $115 million contract (seven years, $41 million guaranteed), Haynesworth had a sack and 2 tackles for loss in the Redskins' 17-14 victory.

His perfectly timed leap on the goal line also blew up a Jay Cutler quarterback sneak from the Washington 1-yard line. Cutler fumbled, and the Redskins recovered.

The Bears never recovered.

“He played lights out,” said cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who tied an NFL record with 4 interceptions in one game.

“When something tragic happens in your life, I can tell you firsthand, you look forward to getting back to where you don't even think about it. Being out there on that football field (during the game), he probably didn't think about it one time. His brother's still with him in his heart.”

Haynesworth called 2010 the “worst year of my life.” He boycotted the Redskins' off-season workouts and minicamps because he was unhappy with the team's switch to a 3-4 defense. He failed a conditioning test when camp opened in July. He has been inactive for games.

Sunday was a good day.

“It just felt good to go out and play,” Haynesworth said, “and try to get life situations off my mind.”