NFL Picks Week 1: Predicting Winner of Bills vs. Jets and Sunday's Best Matchups

Week 1 of the 2012 NFL season features several sensational matchups that will provide football fans with plenty of excitement.

Teams who are facing division rivals, such as the New York Jets, need a victory to quiet the critics and take a step toward a playoff spot.

Let's predict the winners of the best matchups Week 1 has to offer.

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

This is the best game of Monday Night football this week, and these two AFC North division rivals should make for an intense battle that will be decided in the fourth quarter.

The Bengals lost to the Ravens twice last year, and in both games, then-rookie quarterback Andy Dalton did not play well. Dalton threw one touchdown with three interceptions in the two meetings against Baltimore in 2011 for a QB rating of just 63.2.

Even though Baltimore won't have defensive star Terrell Suggs in this game as he continues to heal from an Achilles injury, the Ravens defense will still be able to get pressure on Dalton and make him uncomfortable in the pocket.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had a great preseason and is ready for a breakout season. Along with star running back Ray Rice, Flacco and the Baltimore offense won't have trouble scoring more than 21 points in this game. Dalton won't be able to match the Ravens offense against the fierce Baltimore defense.

Prediction: Ravens win 27-17

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos 

The Steelers return to where their 2011 season ended when the Denver Broncos defeated them in the Wild Card playoff round thanks to a game-winning touchdown pass by Tim Tebow in overtime.

Instead of facing Tebow at quarterback again, the Steelers will have to face Peyton Manning, who will make the Broncos even tougher to defeat.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have to battle a tough Broncos defense led by linebacker Von Miller, but he will have wide receiver Mike Wallace following the veteran's preseason holdout.

It's going to take some time for Manning to reach the MVP level he's accustomed to playing at, and against one of the league's premier defenses, expect Pittsburgh to earn a close victory in this game. The Steelers will win the turnover battle, and capitalize on the Broncos' mistakes.

Prediction: Steelers win 27-24

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets 

One of the best divisional matchups of the weekend is an AFC East showdown between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. Both teams think they have a chance to contend with the New England Patriots atop the division, so winning this game, and earning an early advantage in the tiebreakers will be crucial.

The Bills gave up a combined 56 points in two losses to the Jets last season, but the free agent acquisition of pass-rusher Mario Williams should make a major difference in the defense's success this year.

The Jets offense was atrocious in the preseason, with quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow each playing poorly. If New York struggles to score, their defense will be under immense pressure to bail them out.

That won't be an easy task because the Bills offense, led by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, features star wide receiver Stevie Johnson and impressive running back tandem Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. The Bills offense is a balanced unit, and will help Buffalo win the possession battle.

The opportunistic Buffalo defense will capitalize on Sanchez's and Tebow's mistakes, and force the Jets to score more than 20 points to win. Judging by the effectiveness of the Jets offense during the preseason, scoring more than 20 points will be quite difficult.

Prediction: Bills win 28-17

Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, follow him on Twitter.

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