Broadcasters Really Are Saying "Redskins" A Lot Less This Year

Through two weeks of the season, NFL broadcasters are using the word "Redskins" significantly less often to refer to Washington's NFL franchise than they did last season.

We examined scripts of NFL broadcasts for the first two weeks of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. In 2013 season "Redskins" was said 186 times and "Washington" was said 156 times. In 2014, "Redskins" was said 67 times and "Washington" was said 169 times.

The Redskins played a Monday night game to kick off 2013, which is probably why "Redskins" and "Washington" were said 342 times through the first two weeks of 2013, and just 236 so far this year. Last year's first few weeks were also the peak of RG3's popularity, and it subsiding has also had an effect on Washington's merchandise sales. This is offset by Griffin suffering what will likely be a season-ending injury right at the start of NFL games last week.

But it's the ratio that we're really looking at here, since the two are theoretically used interchangeably. In 2013 "Redskins" was said almost 20 percent more often than "Washington." But in 2014, "Washington" was said more than two and a half times as often as "Redskins." So when the team is mentioned, announcers are deferring to "Washington" more often.

Previously: Which Words Are Used To Describe White And Black NFL Prospects?