Innovative Statistics
Football Outsiders exclusive statistics

1998 NFL QUARTERBACK RATINGS

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 3/30/2020

Quarterbacks are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the quarterback's performance compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The other statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average quarterback in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. Negative DVOA represents below-average offense. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The simple version: DYAR means a quarterback with more total value. DVOA means a quarterback with more value per play.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

Further information about the table below:

  • Passes total includes sacks and aborted snaps. Both count against a quarterback's value.
  • Intentional clock-stopping spikes are not counted as passes, which may cause completion rate to be different from official NFL stats.
  • Fumbles count the same whether lost to the defense or retained by the offense.
  • DPI lists the number of plays and yards where the quarterback drew Defensive Pass Interference. These plays are incorporated into DVOA and DYAR, but are not included in the totals for Passes or Yards.

Clicking on a player's name will bring you to his FO player page with advanced stats through the most recent season.

PASSING: Minimum 200 passes, 35 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
R.Cunningham MIN 1,598 1 1,833 1 45.1% 1 51.4% 446 3,576 4,465 34 1 0 10 60.9% 9/232
V.Testaverde NYJ 1,530 2 1,499 2 42.2% 2 39.0% 442 3,105 4,392 29 4 3 6 61.7% 8/142
S.Young SF 1,433 3 1,399 3 28.4% 5 25.6% 565 3,900 4,883 36 2 6 12 62.8% 8/108
J.Elway DEN 1,169 4 1,136 4 39.2% 3 34.7% 376 2,653 3,511 22 4 1 10 59.2% 3/52
D.Flutie BUF 928 5 950 7 28.3% 6 27.1% 365 2,609 3,149 20 3 0 11 57.9% 7/146
C.Chandler ATL 913 6 966 6 28.7% 4 29.0% 372 2,895 3,086 25 4 2 12 58.1% 5/65
B.Favre GB 813 7 992 5 10.4% 12 13.0% 588 3,988 4,145 31 6 2 23 63.2% 9/177
S.McNair TEN 810 8 899 8 14.2% 11 14.4% 524 3,003 3,726 15 2 2 8 59.6% 5/89
D.Bledsoe NE 795 9 820 10 16.0% 8 12.7% 520 3,328 3,825 20 6 3 14 54.9% 11/174
T.Aikman DAL 781 10 850 9 27.2% 7 28.4% 324 2,222 2,701 12 2 0 5 60.3% 5/60
D.Marino MIA 748 11 804 12 10.4% 13 9.4% 561 3,313 3,822 23 3 4 14 57.9% 10/143
P.Manning IND 697 12 498 13 7.7% 14 0.4% 592 3,616 3,933 26 2 1 28 57.3% 11/150
M.Brunell JAC 638 13 810 11 15.6% 10 20.5% 382 2,428 2,786 20 0 1 8 58.9% 3/35
B.J.Tolliver NO 349 14 342 18 15.6% 9 12.5% 209 1,305 1,531 8 0 2 4 56.4% 3/48
S.Beuerlein CAR 345 15 315 19 2.8% 17 -1.3% 388 2,344 2,465 17 9 2 11 63.5% 3/66
R.Gannon KC 326 16 413 14 2.5% 18 4.7% 381 2,118 2,366 10 4 3 5 58.5% 7/205
C.Batch DET 326 17 353 16 4.9% 15 5.3% 339 1,921 2,084 11 0 2 5 57.7% 2/25
E.Kramer CHI 266 18 393 15 4.2% 16 9.0% 259 1,740 1,752 9 0 3 7 60.9% 5/50
N.O'Donnell CIN 203 19 352 17 -2.9% 19 1.4% 374 1,996 2,234 15 2 4 4 62.2% 9/99
T.Green WAS 187 20 273 20 -5.8% 22 -5.8% 557 3,089 3,100 23 7 7 11 54.9% 5/129
J.Plummer ARI 108 21 249 21 -8.4% 23 -7.2% 595 3,439 3,281 17 6 5 19 59.7% 13/160
K.Graham NYG 89 22 130 23 -4.0% 20 -2.5% 216 1,140 1,102 7 2 1 5 52.0% 2/57
W.Moon SEA 78 23 191 22 -5.3% 21 -1.2% 280 1,489 1,512 11 3 4 7 56.4% 4/87
S.Stenstrom CHI -10 24 -50 26 -11.8% 24 -17.3% 216 1,116 1,105 4 3 2 6 57.4% 2/49
J.Harbaugh BAL -55 25 83 24 -13.9% 26 -8.9% 319 1,686 1,510 12 5 1 10 56.2% 2/47
T.Banks STL -56 26 -103 27 -13.1% 25 -16.9% 454 2,255 2,211 7 7 2 14 59.7% 10/141
T.Dilfer TB -103 27 49 25 -14.7% 27 -11.0% 457 2,507 2,190 21 4 5 15 53.1% 3/63
E.Grbac KC -205 28 -279 29 -27.0% 30 -34.5% 198 1,075 758 5 0 1 12 52.7% 7/127
K.Collins 2TM -253 29 -302 31 -22.0% 29 -25.8% 381 1,990 1,539 12 6 6 14 49.3% 4/72
K.Stewart PIT -293 30 -156 28 -20.4% 28 -18.3% 491 2,335 2,136 11 1 1 18 55.3% 7/96
D.Kanell NYG -377 31 -289 30 -30.1% 31 -27.3% 321 1,413 1,090 11 2 3 10 53.9% 5/70
D.Hollas OAK -420 32 -385 32 -34.4% 33 -35.1% 296 1,548 869 10 4 3 15 51.9% 2/38
C.Whelihan SD -484 33 -386 33 -34.3% 32 -31.6% 333 1,684 1,022 8 3 3 18 47.3% 4/63
R.Leaf SD -661 34 -662 34 -51.8% 34 -53.4% 269 1,131 411 2 3 4 15 45.9% 3/61
B.Hoying PHI -962 35 -877 35 -68.2% 35 -66.0% 265 763 48 0 5 1 9 51.1% 4/72

PASSING, OTHERS: 10-199 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Pass Yards EYds TD FK FL INT C% DPI
B.Brister DEN 337 341 29.6% 28.6% 139 920 1,125 10 1 0 3 60.5% 0/0
B.Johnson MIN 266 249 27.0% 21.9% 104 718 926 7 0 1 5 65.0% 2/65
J.Garrett DAL 210 260 8.7% 10.7% 170 1,126 1,141 5 1 1 3 58.6% 3/84
R.Johnson BUF 185 105 10.9% 0.4% 139 732 927 8 1 1 3 62.6% 5/50
J.Martin JAC 131 166 36.6% 48.4% 47 345 399 2 0 0 0 60.0% 3/47
F.Reich DET 128 124 6.4% 5.1% 115 750 766 5 1 1 4 57.3% 4/54
E.Zeier BAL 91 190 -3.4% 3.6% 194 1,177 1,069 4 1 1 2 60.8% 2/58
B.Hobert NO 71 53 34.9% 21.5% 25 153 221 1 0 0 0 47.8% 0/0
J.Friesz SEA 59 68 10.1% 13.5% 50 402 307 2 0 0 2 59.2% 1/4
S.DeBerg ATL 42 -16 -0.1% -15.8% 66 303 363 3 1 1 1 50.8% 1/12
D.Pederson GB 31 46 8.4% 14.1% 26 119 170 2 0 1 0 58.3% 0/0
D.Huard MIA 30 28 43.8% 36.3% 10 76 86 0 0 0 0 66.7% 0/0
K.Detmer PHI 25 73 -9.0% -7.8% 181 975 946 5 0 0 4 54.2% 2/10
T.Detmer SF 19 35 -3.7% 1.6% 43 292 229 4 0 1 3 63.2% 0/0
D.Krieg TEN 18 36 3.5% 20.1% 23 187 123 0 0 1 0 57.1% 0/0
W.Wilson OAK 17 -3 -8.4% -14.0% 97 507 518 7 0 1 4 59.1% 1/8
J.Kitna SEA 16 119 -9.8% -3.2% 187 1,098 978 7 5 1 8 57.3% 4/102
E.Kresser CIN 8 1 -4.8% -10.5% 21 164 117 1 0 0 2 47.6% 0/0
J.Blake CIN 7 51 -10.1% -4.4% 108 660 538 3 1 0 3 54.8% 3/37
T.Graziani ATL 2 -22 -10.1% -24.5% 35 184 176 0 0 0 2 48.5% 0/0
K.Warner STL -8 -14 -21.9% -30.4% 11 39 51 0 0 0 0 36.4% 0/0
G.Foley NYJ -10 -36 -12.5% -17.1% 114 694 562 4 0 1 6 53.7% 2/65
S.Bono STL -15 18 -12.8% -10.9% 144 753 699 5 1 3 4 50.7% 1/20
S.Mitchell DET -22 -9 -15.2% -14.6% 80 419 400 1 0 0 3 50.7% 0/0
S.Zolak NE -40 -85 -19.3% -31.4% 79 316 338 3 0 1 2 43.2% 0/0
M.Moreno CHI -46 -72 -26.5% -38.6% 46 146 176 1 0 2 0 44.2% 0/0
M.Tomczak PIT -51 -9 -34.3% -18.2% 31 188 108 2 0 2 2 72.4% 1/12
P.Justin CIN -106 -98 -37.1% -35.6% 70 366 185 1 0 0 3 54.0% 1/6
J.Quinn JAC -122 -84 -37.1% -30.0% 71 322 212 2 2 1 3 54.8% 4/126
S.Walsh TB -124 -128 -139.3% -142.0% 20 40 -86 0 0 0 3 50.0% 0/0
R.Peete PHI -154 -99 -28.5% -24.8% 145 664 509 2 0 1 4 55.0% 1/7
G.Frerotte WAS -179 -196 -59.6% -64.9% 66 222 54 1 0 0 3 46.3% 1/10
J.George OAK -212 -155 -29.3% -26.3% 193 1,018 656 4 4 3 5 55.0% 0/0
D.Wuerffel NO -260 -222 -42.8% -39.3% 142 564 312 5 1 0 5 52.1% 2/46

RUSHING: Minimum 8 rushes, 39 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Runs Yards EYds TD FUM
S.McNair TEN 214 1 204 1 49.2% 5 46.1% 66 573 751 4 1
S.Young SF 174 2 186 2 41.5% 8 45.2% 59 466 643 6 1
K.Stewart PIT 87 3 79 4 11.7% 21 9.9% 62 418 455 2 1
D.Flutie BUF 83 4 87 3 34.5% 10 36.6% 35 258 323 1 0
R.Gannon KC 77 5 75 6 48.2% 6 45.4% 24 190 274 3 1
J.Plummer ARI 64 6 77 5 12.5% 20 16.5% 40 229 349 4 1
K.Graham NYG 59 7 60 9 45.4% 7 50.0% 20 143 199 2 0
B.Brister DEN 59 8 57 10 92.0% 1 85.1% 10 114 186 1 0
T.Dilfer TB 57 9 60 8 19.7% 16 24.2% 28 151 243 2 0
C.Batch DET 57 10 50 13 19.6% 17 15.7% 37 232 263 1 0
C.Chandler ATL 56 11 61 7 27.9% 12 30.7% 23 133 236 2 0
V.Testaverde NYJ 53 12 51 11 64.8% 3 62.7% 13 113 173 1 0
R.Johnson BUF 51 13 51 12 58.5% 4 58.4% 17 140 172 1 0
B.Favre GB 50 14 48 14 27.9% 11 24.6% 23 147 216 1 0
J.Quinn JAC 45 15 42 17 74.1% 2 72.6% 9 78 137 1 0
T.Banks STL 43 16 45 15 19.9% 15 24.3% 27 168 183 3 1
J.Harbaugh BAL 43 17 40 18 25.3% 13 20.6% 30 174 200 0 0
S.Stenstrom CHI 42 18 39 19 38.3% 9 35.1% 13 82 158 2 1
R.Cunningham MIN 42 19 43 16 21.3% 14 22.7% 21 142 187 1 1
K.Collins CAR 38 20 26 21 7.6% 25 11.8% 23 158 131 1 1
T.Green WAS 25 21 30 20 10.9% 22 12.6% 23 130 152 2 0
D.Bledsoe NE 23 22 23 22 14.6% 18 12.5% 15 56 126 0 0
J.Elway DEN 20 23 17 24 6.2% 26 4.9% 17 115 117 1 2
J.Kitna SEA 17 24 12 26 9.5% 23 5.4% 12 68 85 1 0
J.Blake CIN 16 25 12 27 13.8% 19 4.2% 14 104 98 0 0
T.Aikman DAL 16 26 19 23 8.7% 24 15.1% 12 78 84 2 1
R.Leaf SD 14 27 13 25 3.5% 28 4.6% 15 87 82 0 1
E.Kramer CHI 9 28 11 28 4.5% 27 6.7% 8 20 66 1 0
P.Manning IND 5 29 6 30 -4.3% 30 -3.8% 12 65 62 0 0
D.Wuerffel NO 4 30 7 29 -2.4% 29 3.8% 8 63 43 0 0
B.J.Tolliver NO 2 31 1 31 -5.1% 31 -9.2% 8 44 42 0 1
N.O'Donnell CIN 1 32 1 32 -8.6% 32 -10.3% 9 36 36 0 0
M.Brunell JAC -1 33 0 33 -14.4% 33 -12.0% 39 197 144 0 2
B.Hoying PHI -5 34 -4 34 -21.3% 34 -16.6% 17 89 43 0 1
D.Kanell NYG -20 35 -22 35 -49.3% 35 -51.0% 10 41 -8 0 1
W.Moon SEA -30 36 -33 36 -70.9% 37 -77.8% 11 13 -33 0 1
S.Beuerlein CAR -35 37 -36 37 -76.2% 38 -72.9% 10 34 -45 0 2
C.Whelihan SD -55 38 -54 38 -80.5% 39 -78.0% 14 41 -71 0 3
D.Hollas OAK -66 39 -65 39 -56.3% 36 -55.0% 27 122 -46 1 3