home team's doubleheader game, and thus miss the end of the first game. The 4:15 p.m. late doubleheader kickoff time dates back to the 1998 season when the NFL moved it from 4:05 p.m. for the same reason. Matchups As per the NFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups were: Intraconference AFC East vs. AFC South AFC North vs. AFC West NFC East vs. NFC South NFC North vs. NFC West Interconference AFC East vs. NFC West AFC North vs. NFC East AFC South vs. NFC North AFC West vs. NFC South Other highlights Highlights of the 2012 schedule include: NFL Kickoff Game: The 2012 regular season began on Wednesday, September 5, as the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys, and the Cowboys beat the Giants 24–17. The game was moved from its usual Thursday slot to avoid conflict with the last day of the Democratic National Convention. More Thursday night games: On February 3, 2012, commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the number of Thursday night games on the NFL Network will increase from eight to 13 games from weeks 2 through 15, excluding Week 12 (the Thanksgiving night game will now air on NBC). This will ensure that every team will have at least one prime time game. International Series: The 2012 International Series game featured the St. Louis hosting the New England on October 28, at 1:00 p.m. EDT (5:00 p.m. GMT) on CBS, at the permanent International Series home—Wembley Stadium in London, England. The Patriots won the game 45–7. Though the league had originally promised to add a second game in Ireland, Scotland or Wales beginning in 2012, the league canceled the game, citing the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as a conflict (the league canceled a second International Series game in 2010 as well, citing the ongoing negotiations of the collective bargaining agreement). This was to be the first of three consecutive International Series appearances for the Rams, but the Rams announced they would no longer take part in the 2013 and 2014 editions due to fan backlash in St. Louis; beginning in 2013, the Jacksonville Jaguars will serve as the permanent International Series tenant instead. Redskins Rule: The last Washington Redskins home game before the 2012 Presidential Election took place on November 4 against the Carolina Panthers. According to the "Redskins Rule," because the Redskins lost that game