Myles Garrett meltdown brings up memory of Albert Haynesworth stomp

Myles Garrett’s dangerous actions on Thursday Night Football has unfortunately brought up the ugly memory of Albert Haynesworth’s stomp from 2006.

After watching Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett completely snap on Thursday night, it brought up the ugly memory of former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth‘s stomping on the face of a Dallas Cowboys player back in 2006.

Garrett crossed the line in a big way against the Pittsburgh Steelers. During an end of regulation skirmish between he and Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, Garrett pulled Rudolph’s helmet off his head and proceeded to hit the quarterback over the head with it.

Thankfully for Rudolph, he was struck with the bottom part of the helmet, which is more padded than the top or sides of it. Regardless, it was an incredibly dangerous act that could have resulted in serious injury to Rudolph.

Since his inexcusable actions, Garrett has been suspended indefinitely for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, and will likely see additional time tacked on for the 2020 season. It’s a well-deserved penalty for one of the more brutal acts of violence we have ever seen on a football field.

As much as we don’t want to remember it, Garrett’s stunt brought up the memory of Haynesworth’s equally barbaric act.

Back in 2006, Haynesworth stomped on the exposed face of Cowboys center Andre Gurode, resulting in the offensive lineman needing 30 stitches to heal the wounds on his face (if you dare, you can view the video of it here).

For his horrific act, Haynesworth was ejected from the game and suspended for five games, which at the time was an unprecedented punishment in the NFL.

Thinking back on it, Haynesworth deserved far more than that considering how dangerous it was. There’s no question that if it happened in today’s NFL, Haynesworth would have faced much harsher consequences and would likely have seen a similar punishment to that of Garrett’s.

Trying to decide which is worse is useless — although I think I’d give the edge to Haynesworth’s — because both are stunningly heinous.

However, when you consider what Garrett is rightfully facing in terms of a suspension, it makes Haynesworth’s lack of an equally serious punishment all the more egregious.