DVOA stands for Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, which is a statistic used to measure the efficiency of football teams, in terms of both their offense and defense. It is a method of evaluating teams, units, or players by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent. DVOA takes into account the importance of each play and is adjusted for game situations, giving a more accurate picture of how well a team is performing. It measures not just yardage, but yardage towards a first down, and performance is also adjusted for the quality of the opponent. DVOA is expressed as a percentage, with 0% meaning the league average and a positive percentage indicating the team is better than average, and a negative percentage indicating the team is worse than average.

To calculate DVOA, Football Outsiders uses a complex algorithm that takes into account three main factors: the down and distance of each play, the location on the field, and the strength of the opponent. DVOA can also be used to grade teams as a whole on both sides of the ball. It predicts the mean wins a team will get, their offensive rank, defensive rank, and special teams rank. DVOA is a useful statistic for football fans and analysts because it provides a much more nuanced look at a team’s performance than traditional stats like total yards or points scored.