DVOA is defense-adjusted value over average, a team efficiency rating built by Football Outsiders (now published by FTN). It compares every play to the league-average result in the same situation, adjusts for the opponent, and reports the total as a percentage: +20 percent means the team is 20 percent better than average, -20 percent means 20 percent worse. It is the oldest of the modern efficiency stats and the one most often quoted on television.
Updated Sept. 16, 2026.
DVOA starts from success points. Every play earns points for the offense based on how far it moved toward a first down or a score, with bonuses for big plays and penalties for turnovers. That total is compared to what an average team gets in the same down, distance, field position and score situation, then scaled by how good the opponent is. Beating a top defense counts for more than beating a bad one.
The result is one number for offense, one for defense and one for special teams, plus a total. Offensive DVOA above zero is good; defensive DVOA below zero is good, because it is measured from the offense's side. The scale runs from roughly -40 percent to +40 percent for full-season units, with the best teams in history near +40 percent total.
DVOA and EPA agree on most of the league. Where they differ, it is usually the opponent adjustment (EPA per play is raw) and the treatment of turnovers and big plays, which DVOA caps and EPA does not. This site's team numbers run on EPA because the play-by-play model is public and can be rebuilt every Monday; DVOA's formula is proprietary.
A team that finishes +25 percent offensive DVOA and -15 percent defensive DVOA is elite on both sides and usually a Super Bowl contender. A team at 0 percent on both is a coin flip every week.
DVOA = (team success points in each situation minus league-average success points in that situation) / league-average success points, adjusted for opponent strength and expressed as a percentage. The exact weights are proprietary to FTN.
For a full season, total DVOA above +20 percent is a top-five team, 0 is average, and below -20 percent is a bottom-five team. The best single-season marks in the database are near +45 percent (the 2007 Patriots) and the worst near -50 percent.
EPA measures each play in points using a public model and does not adjust for opponent by default. DVOA measures each play against the league average in the same situation, adjusts for opponent, and dampens turnovers and huge plays. They rank the league similarly; DVOA is a little more stable, EPA is more transparent.
FTN Fantasy publishes DVOA weekly during the season. It moved there from Football Outsiders in 2023 with the original creator, Aaron Schatz.
Category: Stats & Analytics. Part of the StickToTheModel NFL Encyclopedia.