Here's a piece on Brandon Marshall after his benching today: Goodbye, B-Marsh.

With the Denver Broncos needing him more than ever Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs with an AFC wildcard berth riding on the line, No. 15 is out of the all-important game. Head coach Josh McDaniels announced Friday that Marshall wouldn’t play in the game. That it was a coach’s decision. Yeah, right. Sounds more like bickering back and forth between the star wideout and the young, hotshot coach.

Marshall, who is second in the NFL with 101 catches this year, for 1,120 yards and 10 touchdowns, tweaked his right hamstring in practice Wednesday. The injury, not considered to be as bothersome as some others being suffered by Denver players, was enough for Marshall to allegedly consider not playing Sunday anyway. That was enough for McDaniels to pull the plug on his team’s best offensive player with one last gasp hope of reaching the playoffs for the first time in four years at stake.

This is not the first time that McDaniels and Marshall have butted heads, but it sure might be the last. While Denver will rely on Jabar Gaffney, who is second on the team with a mere 40 catches for 519 yards, and hope to have Eddie Royal back this week, Marshall, who will be a restricted free agent after the season, may have played for the last time in the Mile High City.

McDaniels called the decision a matter of accountability. It’s not like Marshall has been accountable for anything this season other than being the most persistent offensive threat for the Broncos. Remember those 21 catches versus Indianapolis?

Nevertheless, Marshall picked up his paycheck this season, McDaniels showed who’s boss at Dove Valley and, as long as the NFL and the Players’ Association can reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, B-Marsh has earned a one-way ticket out of Denver.

--- MICHAEL HICKS.