NFL — additional Python functions — Models and calculators: calculate_epa
calculate_epa
calculate_epa(df: 'pl.DataFrame') -> 'pl.DataFrame'
Derive expected points added (EPA) from pre-scored EP point estimates.
This is the derivation half of NFLPlayProcess.__process_epa lifted
into a shared, model-free function so the same nflfastR-faithful EPA logic
can be reused by the streaming enrich_nfl_pbp pipeline and by
process_epa` itself. It performs no model inference — the caller
must already have scored the per-play EP point estimates.
Derivation rules (mirror nflfastR / the original process_epa`):
- Scoring overlays rewrite
EP_endto the realized point value (offense TD+7/+6.92/ 2pt variants, made FG+3, defensive scores, extra points, etc.) using the sametype.text/textclassification as process_epa`. - Turnovers (
end_change_vec/downs_turnover), kickoff turnovers and recovered onside kicks flipEP_endto the opponent's perspective (EP_end * -1). lag_EP_endis the previous play'sEP_end;EP_betweenflips its sign on a prior-play possession change.- Kickoffs use
EP_start_touchbackasEP_start. EPA = EP_end - EP_startnormally;-EP_starton a non-scoring end-of-half play;0on a timeout;EP_end - EP_start + EP_betweenon a (non-kickoff, non-Penalty) penalty-in-text play.
Every shift is grouped .over("game_id") so a concatenated
multi-game frame never leaks EP across game boundaries — this differs from
process_epa` (which runs one game per instance and therefore needs no
grouping).
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
df | DataFrame | Play-by-play DataFrame that already carries the EP point estimates under the ESPN-internal names EP_start, EP_end and EP_start_touchback (e.g. as produced by the EP-scoring half of process_epa), plus the play-classification / flag columns: game_id, type.text, text, change_of_pos_team, downs_turnover, kickoff_onside, scoring_play, end_of_halfandpenalty_in_text. See EPA_REQUIRED_COLUMNS. This function does not score EP itself — score it first via the EP feature pipeline (the EP_* triple is the ESPN-internal naming, distinct from calculate_expected_points's lowercase ep). |
Returns
The input frame with the EPA derivation applied. EP_start is rewritten to 0.92 for scoring-attempt play types (Extra Point Good, Extra Point Missed, Two-Point Conversion Good, Two-Point Conversion Missed, Two Point Pass, Two Point Rush, Blocked PAT, Defensive 2pt Conversion) before any other overlays fire. EP_start / EP_end are then rewritten in place (overlays, sign flips, touchback), EP_between, lag_EP_end and lag_change_of_pos_team are added, EPA is added, and lowercase nflverse aliases ep (= EP_end), epa (= EPA), ep_start (= EP_start) and ep_end (= EP_end) are added for downstream contract parity.
| col_name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
game_play_number | integer | |
id | integer | ID of the player in the 'name' column. |
sequenceNumber | integer | |
text | character | |
awayScore | integer | |
homeScore | integer | |
scoringPlay | logical | ESPN flag marking the play as a scoring play. |
priority | logical | |
modified | character | |
wallclock | character | |
teamParticipants | integer | Raw ESPN team-level participants payload carried through from the plays feed (stringified). |
isPenalty | logical | ESPN's per-play flag that a penalty occurred on the play. |
statYardage | integer | Yardage ESPN credits to the play for statistical purposes. |
isTurnover | logical | ESPN's per-play turnover flag as shipped in the plays feed (broader than the giveaway-based is_turnover derivation). |
type.id | character | ESPN's numeric identifier for the play type. |
type.text | character | ESPN's text label for the play type. |
period.number | integer | Period (quarter) number in which the play occurred. |
clock.displayValue | character | Game clock at the play, as the displayed mm:ss string. |
start.down | integer | ESPN's down value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.distance | integer | ESPN's distance value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.yardLine | integer | ESPN's yardLine value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.yardsToEndzone | integer | ESPN's yardsToEndzone value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.team.id | integer | ESPN's team.id value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.down | integer | ESPN's down value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.distance | integer | ESPN's distance value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.yardLine | integer | ESPN's yardLine value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.yardsToEndzone | integer | ESPN's yardsToEndzone value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.team.id | integer | ESPN's team.id value for the play state at the end of the play. |
type.abbreviation | character | ESPN's abbreviation for the play type. |
start.downDistanceText | character | ESPN's downDistanceText value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.shortDownDistanceText | character | ESPN's shortDownDistanceText value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.possessionText | character | ESPN's possessionText value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.downDistanceText | character | ESPN's downDistanceText value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.shortDownDistanceText | character | ESPN's shortDownDistanceText value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.possessionText | character | ESPN's possessionText value for the play state at the end of the play. |
scoringType.name | character | ESPN's name for the scoring type (e.g. touchdown, field goal). |
scoringType.displayName | character | ESPN's display label for the scoring type. |
scoringType.abbreviation | character | ESPN's abbreviation for the scoring type. |
pointAfterAttempt.id | double | ESPN identifier for the point-after attempt type on the scoring play. |
pointAfterAttempt.text | character | ESPN description of the point-after attempt and its result. |
pointAfterAttempt.abbreviation | character | ESPN abbreviation of the point-after attempt type; drives the extra-point / two-point result derivation. |
pointAfterAttempt.value | double | Points ESPN credits for the point-after attempt (1.0 made extra point, 2.0 made two-point try). |
drive.id | character | ESPN's id field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.displayResult | character | ESPN's displayResult field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.isScore | logical | ESPN's isScore field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.team.shortDisplayName | character | ESPN's team.shortDisplayName field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.team.displayName | character | ESPN's team.displayName field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.team.name | character | ESPN's team.name field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.team.abbreviation | character | ESPN's team.abbreviation field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.yards | integer | ESPN's yards field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.offensivePlays | integer | ESPN's offensivePlays field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.result | character | ESPN's result field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.description | character | ESPN's description field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.shortDisplayResult | character | ESPN's shortDisplayResult field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.timeElapsed.displayValue | character | ESPN's timeElapsed.displayValue field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.start.period.number | integer | ESPN's start.period.number field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.start.period.type | character | ESPN's start.period.type field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.start.yardLine | integer | ESPN's start.yardLine field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.start.clock.displayValue | character | ESPN's start.clock.displayValue field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.start.text | character | ESPN's start.text field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.end.period.number | integer | ESPN's end.period.number field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.end.period.type | character | ESPN's end.period.type field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.end.yardLine | integer | ESPN's end.yardLine field for the drive containing this play. |
drive.end.clock.displayValue | character | ESPN's end.clock.displayValue field for the drive containing this play. |
game_id | integer | Ten digit identifier for NFL game. |
season | integer | 4 digit number indicating to which season(s) the specified timeframe belongs to. |
seasonType | integer | ESPN season type for the game (2 = regular season, 3 = postseason). |
week | integer | Season week. |
status_type_completed | logical | |
homeTeamId | integer | ESPN's home-team Id for the game, stamped on every play. |
awayTeamId | integer | ESPN's away-team Id for the game, stamped on every play. |
homeTeamName | character | ESPN's home-team Name for the game, stamped on every play. |
awayTeamName | character | ESPN's away-team Name for the game, stamped on every play. |
homeTeamMascot | character | ESPN's home-team Mascot for the game, stamped on every play. |
awayTeamMascot | character | ESPN's away-team Mascot for the game, stamped on every play. |
homeTeamAbbrev | character | ESPN's home-team Abbrev for the game, stamped on every play. |
awayTeamAbbrev | character | ESPN's away-team Abbrev for the game, stamped on every play. |
homeTeamNameAlt | character | ESPN's home-team NameAlt for the game, stamped on every play. |
awayTeamNameAlt | character | ESPN's away-team NameAlt for the game, stamped on every play. |
gameSpread | double | Point spread used as an input to the win-probability model. |
homeFavorite | logical | True when the home team was favoured by the spread. |
gameSpreadAvailable | logical | True when a spread was available for the game. |
overUnder | double | Over/under total used as a model input. |
roof | character | One of 'dome', 'outdoors', 'closed', 'open' indicating indicating the roof status of the stadium the game was played in. (Source: Pro-Football-Reference) |
homeTeamSpread | double | ESPN's home-team Spread for the game, stamped on every play. |
clock.minutes | integer | Minutes remaining on the game clock at the play. |
clock.seconds | integer | Seconds component of the game clock at the play. |
half | integer | |
lag_half | integer | Value of half on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_half | integer | Value of half on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
start.TimeSecsRem | integer | Seconds remaining in the half from ESPN's clock stamp for this play, which is the end-of-play time in 2005 and 2007+ (the snap time in 2004 and most of 2006); tops out at 1800. |
start.adj_TimeSecsRem | integer | ESPN's adj_TimeSecsRem value for the play state at the start of the play. |
orig_play_type | character | |
lead_text | character | Value of text on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_start_team | character | Value of start_team on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_start_yardsToEndzone | integer | Value of start_yardsToEndzone on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_start_down | integer | Value of start_down on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_start_distance | integer | Value of start_distance on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_scoringPlay | logical | Value of scoringPlay on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
text_dupe | logical | Always False in the emitted frame -- the duplicate-row filter it gates runs before the column is returned, so it marks nothing and is retained only for schema stability. |
start.pos_team.id | integer | ESPN's pos_team.id value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.def_pos_team.id | integer | ESPN's def_pos_team.id value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.def_pos_team.id | integer | ESPN's def_pos_team.id value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.pos_team.id | integer | ESPN's pos_team.id value for the play state at the end of the play. |
start.pos_team.name | character | ESPN's pos_team.name value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.def_pos_team.name | character | ESPN's def_pos_team.name value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.pos_team.name | character | ESPN's pos_team.name value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.def_pos_team.name | character | ESPN's def_pos_team.name value for the play state at the end of the play. |
start.is_home | logical | ESPN's is_home value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.is_home | logical | ESPN's is_home value for the play state at the end of the play. |
homeTimeoutCalled | logical | True when the home team called a timeout on the play. |
awayTimeoutCalled | logical | True when the away team called a timeout on the play. |
end.homeTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's homeTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.awayTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's awayTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play. |
start.homeTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's homeTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.awayTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's awayTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.TimeSecsRem | integer | Seconds remaining in the half carried as this play's end state; currently the preceding row's clock stamp. |
end.adj_TimeSecsRem | integer | ESPN's adj_TimeSecsRem value for the play state at the end of the play. |
start.posTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's posTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.defPosTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's defPosTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.posTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's posTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.defPosTeamTimeouts | integer | ESPN's defPosTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play. |
firstHalfKickoffTeamId | integer | ESPN id of the team that received the opening kickoff. |
period | integer | |
start.yard | integer | ESPN's yard value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.yard | integer | ESPN's yard value for the play state at the end of the play. |
lag_scoringPlay | logical | Value of scoringPlay on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
end_of_half | logical | |
down_1 | logical | True when it is 1st down at the start of the play. |
down_2 | logical | True when it is 2nd down at the start of the play. |
down_3 | logical | True when it is 3rd down at the start of the play. |
down_4 | logical | True when it is 4th down at the start of the play. |
down_1_end | logical | True when it is 1st down at the end of the play. |
down_2_end | logical | True when it is 2nd down at the end of the play. |
down_3_end | logical | True when it is 3rd down at the end of the play. |
down_4_end | logical | True when it is 4th down at the end of the play. |
scoring_play | logical | |
td_play | logical | |
touchdown | logical | Binary indicator for if the play resulted in a TD. |
td_check | logical | Internal flag used while reconciling whether the play produced a touchdown. |
safety | logical | Binary indicator for whether or not a safety occurred. |
fumble_vec | logical | |
forced_fumble | logical | True when the defense forced a fumble on the play. |
kickoff_play | logical | |
kickoff_tb | logical | |
kickoff_onside | logical | |
kickoff_oob | logical | |
kickoff_fair_catch | logical | Binary indicator for if the kickoff was caught with a fair catch. |
kickoff_downed | logical | Binary indicator for if the kickoff was downed. |
kick_play | logical | |
kickoff_safety | logical | |
punt | logical | |
punt_play | logical | |
punt_tb | logical | |
punt_oob | logical | |
punt_fair_catch | logical | Binary indicator for if the punt was caught with a fair catch. |
punt_downed | logical | Binary indicator for if the punt was downed. |
punt_safety | logical | |
punt_blocked | logical | Binary indicator for if the punt was blocked. |
penalty_safety | logical | |
rush | logical | Binary indicator if the play was a rushing play. |
pass | logical | Binary indicator if the play was a pass play (sacks and scrambles included). |
sack_vec | logical | |
pos_team | integer | |
def_pos_team | integer | |
is_home | logical | |
lag_HA_score_diff | integer | Value of HA_score_diff on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
HA_score_diff | integer | Home score minus away score for the play. |
net_HA_score_pts | integer | Net points the play added to the home-minus-away score margin. |
H_score_diff | integer | Home team's score minus the away team's, from the home perspective. |
A_score_diff | integer | Away team's score minus the home team's, from the away perspective. |
lag_homeScore | integer | Value of homeScore on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lag_awayScore | integer | Value of awayScore on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
start.homeScore | integer | ESPN's homeScore value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.awayScore | integer | ESPN's awayScore value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.homeScore | integer | ESPN's homeScore value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.awayScore | integer | ESPN's awayScore value for the play state at the end of the play. |
pos_team_score | integer | |
def_pos_team_score | integer | |
start.pos_team_score | integer | ESPN's pos_team_score value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.def_pos_team_score | integer | ESPN's def_pos_team_score value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.pos_score_diff | integer | ESPN's pos_score_diff value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.pos_team_score | integer | ESPN's pos_team_score value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.def_pos_team_score | integer | ESPN's def_pos_team_score value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.pos_score_diff | integer | ESPN's pos_score_diff value for the play state at the end of the play. |
lag_pos_team | integer | |
lead_pos_team | integer | |
lead_pos_team2 | integer | Value of pos_team 2 plays ahead, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
pos_score_diff | integer | |
lag_pos_score_diff | integer | |
pos_score_pts | integer | |
pos_score_diff_start | integer | |
start.pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff | logical | ESPN's pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff | logical | ESPN's pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff value for the play state at the end of the play. |
change_of_poss | logical | |
penalty_flag | logical | |
penalty_declined | logical | |
penalty_no_play | logical | |
penalty_offset | logical | |
penalty_1st_conv | logical | |
penalty_in_text | logical | True when the play description mentions a penalty. |
penalty_detail | character | |
penalty_text | character | |
yds_penalty | character | |
penalty_count | integer | Number of penalties flagged on the play (0-4 observed). |
penalty_declined_count | integer | Number of the flagged penalties that were declined. |
penalty_all_declined | logical | Whether every penalty flagged on the play was declined. |
penalty_enforcement | character | How the penalty was resolved: one of no_play, declined, offsetting, negating_foul, play_stands, unknown. |
penalty_negated_play | logical | Whether the penalty negated the play's result. |
sack | logical | Binary indicator for if the play ended in a sack. |
int | logical | |
int_td | logical | |
completion | logical | |
pass_attempt | logical | Binary indicator for if the play was a pass attempt (includes sacks). |
target | logical | |
pass_breakup | logical | True when a defender broke up the pass. |
pass_td | logical | |
rush_td | logical | |
pass_depth | character | Thrown-pass depth parsed from ESPN play text ("short" or "deep"); null when the text omits it (sacks, screens, pre-2025 text). |
pass_direction | character | Pass direction parsed from ESPN play text ("left", "middle", or "right"); null when the text omits it. |
rush_direction | character | Rush direction parsed from ESPN play text ("left", "middle", or "right"); null when the text omits it. |
turnover_vec | logical | |
offense_score_play | logical | |
defense_score_play | logical | |
downs_turnover | logical | |
yds_punted | integer | |
yds_punt_gained | integer | |
fg_attempt | logical | True when the play was a field-goal attempt. |
fg_made | logical | |
yds_fg | integer | |
pos_unit | character | |
def_pos_unit | character | |
lead_play_type | character | |
sp | logical | Binary indicator for whether or not a score occurred on the play. |
play | logical | Binary indicator: 1 if the play was a 'normal' play (including penalties), 0 otherwise. |
scrimmage_play | logical | True when the play is a play from scrimmage rather than a special-teams or administrative row. |
change_of_pos_team | logical | |
pos_score_diff_end | integer | Score differential from the possessing team's perspective at the end of the play. |
fumble_lost | logical | Binary indicator for if the fumble was lost. |
fumble_recovered | logical | True when a fumble on the play was recovered. |
field_goal_result | character | String indicator for result of field goal attempt: made, missed, or blocked. |
extra_point_result | character | String indicator for the result of the extra point attempt: good, failed, blocked, safety (touchback in defensive endzone is 1 point apparently), or aborted. |
two_point_conv_result | character | String result of the two-point conversion attempt: success, failure, or safety (touchback in the defensive end zone). |
kneel_down | logical | Whether the play is an offensive kneel, from explicit kneel text plus an end-of-half TEAM-rush heuristic. |
qb_hurry | logical | Whether ESPN's play text says the quarterback was hurried into the throw ("hurried by ..."). |
xp_attempt | logical | Whether an extra-point kick was attempted on the play. |
xp_made | logical | Whether the extra-point kick was successful. |
two_point_attempt | logical | Binary indicator for two point conversion attempt. |
defensive_two_point_attempt | logical | Binary indicator whether or not the defense was able to have an attempt on a two point conversion, this results following a turnover. |
defensive_two_point_conv | logical | Binary indicator whether or not the defense successfully scored on the two point conversion. |
two_point_pass | logical | |
two_point_rush | logical | |
yds_rushed | integer | |
yds_receiving | integer | |
yds_int_return | character | |
yds_kickoff | integer | |
yds_kickoff_return | integer | |
yds_punt_return | integer | |
yds_fumble_return | character | |
yds_sacked | integer | |
sack_players | character | |
xp_kicker_player_name | character | Name of the kicker attempting the extra point. |
passer_player_name | character | String name for the player that attempted the pass. |
rusher_player_name | character | String name for the player that attempted the run. |
receiver_player_name | character | String name for the targeted receiver. |
sack_player_name | character | String name of the player who recorded a solo sack. |
sack_player_name2 | character | |
pass_breakup_player_name | character | |
interception_player_name | character | String name for the player that intercepted the pass. |
fg_kicker_player_name | character | |
fg_block_player_name | character | |
fg_return_player_name | character | |
kickoff_player_name | character | |
kickoff_return_player_name | character | Name of the player returning the kickoff, when the play was returned. |
punter_player_name | character | String name for the punter. |
punt_block_player_name | character | |
punt_return_player_name | character | Name of the player returning the punt, when the punt was returned. |
punt_block_return_player_name | character | |
fumble_player_name | character | |
fumble_forced_player_name | character | |
fumble_recovered_player_name | character | |
kicking_team | integer | Team id of the kicking team on kickoff, punt, and field-goal plays. |
return_team | integer | Team id of the returning side; set on interception, fumble, kickoff, punt, and blocked-kick returns. |
fumble_or_muff | logical | Whether the play includes a fumble or a muffed kick or punt (widened beyond ESPN's fumble play types). |
recovery_team | character | Team id parsed from the play text as recovering the fumble or muff. |
recovery_team_2 | character | Team id of the second recovery in a multi-recovery scramble, parsed from the play text. |
penalty_spot_yardline | integer | Yard line (0-50) at which the penalty was spotted. |
penalty_spot_side | character | Side of the field the penalty was spotted on: 'home', 'away' or 'mid' (midfield). |
penalty_spot_yardsToEndzone | integer | Yards from the penalty spot to the end zone (0-100). |
fumbling_team | character | Team id of the side that fumbled or muffed the ball, parsed from the play text. |
int_turnover | logical | Whether the play is an interception giveaway. |
pos_fumble_lost | logical | Whether the possession team fumbled and lost the ball. |
def_fumble_lost | logical | Whether the defending team (e.g. a returner after a takeaway) fumbled and lost the ball back. |
is_pos_team_turnover | logical | Whether the possession team committed a giveaway (interception or fumble lost). |
is_def_pos_team_turnover | logical | Whether the defending team gave the ball back via a lost fumble. |
is_turnover | logical | True when the play is a giveaway-based turnover (interception thrown or fumble lost); blocked kicks recovered by the defense are carried by the blocked-kick fields instead. |
turnover_team | character | Team id charged with the giveaway on the play. |
is_st_turnover | logical | Whether the giveaway happened on a special-teams play (kick or punt snap, or a return). |
is_blocked_punt_turnover | logical | Blocked-punt possession loss (blocked-punt TD, or the defense recovered); kept out of is_turnover to match ESPN's giveaway-only box. |
is_blocked_fg_turnover | logical | Blocked-field-goal possession loss (blocked-FG TD, or the defense recovered); kept out of is_turnover to match ESPN's giveaway-only box. |
sack_team | integer | Team id credited with the sack (the defense). |
interception_team | integer | Team id credited with the interception (the defense). |
pass_breakup_team | integer | Team id credited with the pass breakup (the defense). |
forced_fumble_team | integer | Team id credited with forcing the fumble -- the side opposite the fumbling player (the covering team on returns). |
fumble_recovery_team | character | Team id that recovered the fumble or muff, from parsed text with a giveaway / own-recovery fallback. |
punt_return_team | integer | Team id of the punt-returning side. |
kick_return_team | integer | Team id of the kick-returning side. |
fg_team | integer | Team id attempting the field goal (the kicking team). |
punt_team | integer | Team id punting the ball (the kicking team). |
penalized_team | integer | Team id the penalty was assessed against, from the home/away text resolver with a foul-direction fallback. |
penalty_yards_signed | integer | Penalty yardage parsed from the play text with era-aware bounds; the printed sign is retained but is not a reliable enforcement direction. |
penalty_side | character | Which side committed the penalty -- 'off' (offense) or 'def' (defense). |
penalty_yards_net | integer | Net yardage assessed for the penalty, signed relative to the possession team (observed -25 to 25). |
penalty_team_id | integer | Team id of the side that committed the penalty. |
lateral_player_name | character | |
yds_lateral | character | |
yards_after_catch | character | Numeric value for distance in yards perpendicular to the yard line where the receiver made the reception to where the play ended. |
air_yards | character | Numeric value for distance in yards perpendicular to the line of scrimmage at where the targeted receiver either caught or didn't catch the ball. |
air_yardsToEndzone | character | Yards to the endzone at the catch spot, parsed from the 2025+ vendor catch-spot text; null before 2025 or when unresolvable. |
new_down | integer | Down after the play, including any penalty enforcement. |
new_distance | integer | Distance to go after the play, including any penalty enforcement. |
middle_8 | logical | |
rz_play | logical | |
under_2 | logical | Whether the play began with two minutes or less remaining in the half. |
goal_to_go | logical | Binary indicator for whether or not the posteam is in a goal down situation. |
scoring_opp | logical | |
stuffed_run | logical | |
stopped_run | logical | True when the rush was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. |
opportunity_run | logical | |
highlight_run | logical | True when the rush gained 8 or more yards. |
adj_rush_yardage | integer | Rushing yards capped at 8, the input to the line-yards decomposition. |
line_yards | double | Yards credited to the offensive line on a rush, using the standard sliding scale: 1.2x the capped yardage on a loss, all of it through 3 yards, half of each yard from 4 to 8, and a 5.5-yard ceiling beyond that. |
second_level_yards | double | Rushing yards earned from 4 to 8, split evenly between line and carrier under the line-yards decomposition. |
open_field_yards | integer | Rushing yards gained beyond 8, credited to the ball carrier rather than the line. |
highlight_yards | double | Second-level plus open-field yards -- the yardage credited to the carrier. |
opp_highlight_yards | double | Highlight yards earned on opportunity runs, isolating carrier production on carries where the blocking succeeded. Assets published before the 2026-08 fix are identically 0 here, because the inverted opportunity_run gate could never co-occur with non-zero highlight yards. |
short_rush_success | logical | True when a short-yardage rush gained the yardage needed. |
short_rush_attempt | logical | True when the play is a rush in a short-yardage situation. |
power_rush_success | logical | True when a power rushing attempt gained the yardage needed. |
power_rush_attempt | logical | True when the play is a short-yardage power rushing attempt. |
early_down | logical | True when the play is a scrimmage play on first or second down. |
late_down | logical | True when the play is a scrimmage play on third or fourth down. |
early_down_pass | logical | True when the play is a pass on an early down. |
early_down_rush | logical | True when the play is a rush on an early down. |
late_down_pass | logical | True when the play is a pass on a late down. |
late_down_rush | logical | True when the play is a rush on a late down. |
standard_down | logical | True when the offense is on schedule for the series -- first down, second down needing fewer than 8, or third/fourth down needing fewer than 5. |
passing_down | logical | True when the offense is behind schedule for the series -- second down needing 8 or more, or third/fourth down needing 5 or more. |
TFL | logical | True when the play was a tackle for loss. |
TFL_pass | logical | True when the play was a tackle for loss on a pass play (a sack). |
TFL_rush | logical | True when the play was a tackle for loss on a rush play. |
havoc | logical | True when the defense disrupted the play: a pass breakup, tackle for loss, interception or forced fumble. |
first_down_yards | logical | Whether the play gained enough yardage to earn a first down. |
first_down_penalty | logical | Binary indicator for if a penalty converted the first down. |
first_down_earned | logical | Whether the play earned a first down by means other than yardage (e.g. by penalty). |
new_series | logical | |
firstD_by_kickoff | logical | |
firstD_by_poss | logical | |
firstD_by_penalty | logical | |
firstD_by_yards | logical | |
start.pos_team_spread | double | ESPN's pos_team_spread value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.elapsed_share | double | ESPN's elapsed_share value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.spread_time | double | ESPN's spread_time value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.pos_team_spread | double | ESPN's pos_team_spread value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.elapsed_share | double | ESPN's elapsed_share value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.spread_time | double | ESPN's spread_time value for the play state at the end of the play. |
pass_length | character | String indicator for pass length: short or deep. |
pass_location | character | String indicator for pass location: left, middle, or right. |
shotgun | integer | Binary indicator for whether or not the play was in shotgun formation. |
no_huddle | integer | Binary indicator for whether or not the play was in no_huddle formation. |
pass_middle | integer | |
down | integer | The down for the given play. |
distance | integer | |
start.yardsToEndzone.touchback | integer | ESPN's yardsToEndzone.touchback value for the play state at the start of the play. |
penalty_assessed_on_kickoff | logical | Whether a penalty was assessed on a kickoff; such plays take the kickoff/touchback win-probability handling. |
EP_start_touchback | double | Expected points the offense would have had from a touchback on this play. |
EP_start | double | Expected points for the offense at the start of the play. |
EP_end | double | Expected points for the offense at the end of the play. |
EP_penalty_cf | character | Counterfactual expected points for the penalty branch -- the EP had the alternative penalty outcome been taken (null unless a penalty decision existed). |
penalty_cf_yardsToEndzone | character | Yards to the end zone in the counterfactual penalty branch. |
lag_EP_end | double | Value of EP_end on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lag_change_of_pos_team | logical | |
EP_between | double | Change in expected points across the play, before penalty adjustment. |
EPA | double | |
def_EPA | double | |
EPA_scrimmage | double | EPA credited to the play on plays from scrimmage. |
EPA_rush | double | EPA credited to the play on rush plays. |
EPA_pass | double | EPA credited to the play on pass plays. |
EPA_explosive | logical | True when the play was explosive. |
EPA_non_explosive | double | EPA credited to the play on non-explosive plays. |
EPA_explosive_pass | logical | True when the pass play was explosive. |
EPA_explosive_rush | logical | True when the rush play was explosive. |
first_down_created | logical | True when the play produced a first down for the offense. |
EPA_success | logical | True when the play was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_early_down | logical | True when the play on an early down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_early_down_pass | logical | True when the pass play on an early down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_early_down_rush | logical | True when the rush play on an early down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_late_down | logical | True when the play on a late down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_late_down_pass | logical | True when the pass play on a late down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_late_down_rush | logical | True when the rush play on a late down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_standard_down | logical | True when the play on a standard down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_passing_down | logical | True when the play on a passing down was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_pass | logical | True when the pass play was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_rush | logical | True when the rush play was successful by EPA. |
EPA_success_EPA | double | EPA on successful plays. |
EPA_success_standard_down_EPA | double | EPA on successful plays on a standard down. |
EPA_success_passing_down_EPA | double | EPA on successful plays on a passing down. |
EPA_success_pass_EPA | double | EPA on successful pass plays. |
EPA_success_rush_EPA | double | EPA on successful rush plays. |
EPA_middle_8_success | logical | True when the play in the middle eight was successful by EPA. |
EPA_middle_8_success_pass | logical | True when the pass play in the middle eight was successful by EPA. |
EPA_middle_8_success_rush | logical | True when the rush play in the middle eight was successful by EPA. |
EPA_penalty | double | EPA credited to the play attributable to penalties. |
EPA_penalty_direct | double | EPA attributable directly to the penalty on the play, separated from the EPA of the play itself (observed -11.7 to 8.05; null when no penalty applied). |
EPA_sp | double | EPA credited to the play on special-teams plays. |
EPA_fg | double | EPA credited to the play on field-goal attempts. |
EPA_punt | double | EPA credited to the play on punt plays. |
EPA_kickoff | double | EPA credited to the play on kickoff plays. |
qb_epa | double | Gives QB credit for EPA for up to the point where a receiver lost a fumble after a completed catch and makes EPA work more like passing yards on plays with fumbles. |
start.ExpScoreDiff_touchback | double | ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_touchback value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.ExpScoreDiff | double | ESPN's ExpScoreDiff value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio_touchback | double | ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio_touchback value for the play state at the start of the play. |
start.ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio | double | ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio value for the play state at the start of the play. |
end.ExpScoreDiff | double | ESPN's ExpScoreDiff value for the play state at the end of the play. |
end.ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio | double | ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio value for the play state at the end of the play. |
wp_before | double | |
wp_touchback | double | Win probability the offense would have had starting from a touchback. |
wp_after | double | |
def_wp_before | double | |
home_wp_before | double | |
away_wp_before | double | |
lead_wp_before | double | Value of wp_before on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
lead_wp_before2 | double | Value of wp_before 2 plays ahead, used for sequence-aware derivations. |
def_wp_after | double | |
home_wp_after | double | |
away_wp_after | double | |
wpa | double | Win probability added (WPA) for the posteam. |
wp | double | Estimated win probability for the posteam given the current situation at the start of the given play. |
vegas_wp | double | Estimated win probability for the posteam given the current situation at the start of the given play, incorporating pre-game Vegas line. |
def_wp | double | Estimated win probability for the defteam. |
home_wp | double | Estimated win probability for the home team. |
away_wp | double | Estimated win probability for the away team. |
wp_before_naive | double | Pre-snap possession-team win probability from the spread-free (naive) WP model. |
wp_after_naive | double | End-of-play possession-team win probability from the naive model, after the game-logic adjustment chain. |
wpa_naive | double | Win probability added on the play under the spread-free (naive) model. |
def_wp_before_naive | double | Pre-snap defense win probability under the naive model (1 - wp_before_naive). |
def_wp_after_naive | double | End-of-play defense win probability under the naive model. |
home_wp_before_naive | double | Pre-snap naive win probability mapped to the home team. |
home_wp_after_naive | double | End-of-play naive win probability mapped to the home team. |
lead_wp_before_naive | double | Next play's pre-snap naive win probability, used in the end-of-half and change-of-possession adjustments. |
lead_wp_before2_naive | double | Pre-snap naive win probability two plays ahead, used where the immediately following row is a non-play. |
wp_touchback_naive | double | Naive-model win probability for the kickoff-touchback substitute state, used as the pre-snap WP on kickoffs. |
away_wp_before_naive | double | Pre-snap naive win probability mapped to the away team. |
away_wp_after_naive | double | End-of-play naive win probability mapped to the away team. |
cp | character | Numeric value indicating the probability for a complete pass based on comparable game situations. |
cpoe | character | For a single pass play this is 1 - cp when the pass was completed or 0 - cp when the pass was incomplete. Analyzed for a whole game or season an indicator for the passer how much over or under expectation his completion percentage was. |
xpass | double | Probability of dropback scaled from 0 to 1. |
pass_oe | double | Dropback percent over expected on a given play scaled from 0 to 100. |
xyac_epa | character | Expected value of EPA gained after the catch, starting from where the catch was made. Zero yards after the catch would be listed as zero EPA. |
xyac_mean_yardage | character | Average expected yards after the catch based on where the ball was caught. |
xyac_median_yardage | character | Median expected yards after the catch based on where the ball was caught. |
xyac_success | character | Probability play earns positive EPA (relative to where play started) based on where ball was caught. |
xyac_fd | character | Probability play earns a first down based on where the ball was caught. |
drive_start | double | Yard line at which the drive began. |
drive_stopped | logical | True when the play ended the drive. |
drive_play_index | integer | Sequence number of the play within its drive. |
drive_offense_plays | integer | Offensive plays run on the drive. |
prog_drive_EPA | double | Cumulative EPA accrued by the drive up to and including this play. |
prog_drive_WPA | double | Cumulative win-probability added by the drive up to and including this play. |
drive_offense_yards | integer | Offensive yards gained on the drive. |
drive_total_yards | integer | Total yards gained on the drive. |
fixed_drive | integer | Manually created drive number in a game. |
fixed_drive_result | character | Manually created drive result. |
series | integer | Starts at 1, each new first down increments, numbers shared across both teams NA: kickoffs, extra point/two point conversion attempts, non-plays, no posteam |
series_result | character | Possible values: First down, Touchdown, Opp touchdown, Field goal, Missed field goal, Safety, Turnover, Punt, Turnover on downs, QB kneel, End of half |
series_success | integer | 1: scored touchdown, gained enough yards for first down. |
go_wp | double | Win probability from going for it on fourth down: conversion-probability-weighted mean of the success and failure states (cfb4th port). |
first_down_prob | double | Modeled probability of converting the fourth down when going for it. |
wp_succeed | double | Mean win probability across yardage outcomes given the fourth-down attempt converts. |
wp_fail | double | Mean win probability given the fourth-down attempt fails. |
fg_make_prob | double | |
make_fg_wp | double | Win probability given the field-goal attempt is made. |
miss_fg_wp | double | Win probability given the field-goal attempt misses. |
fg_wp | double | Make-probability-weighted win probability of attempting the field goal. |
punt_wp | double | Win probability of punting, from the bundled punt-outcome distribution. |
go_boost | double | cfb4th's headline number: 100 * (go_wp - max(fg_wp, punt_wp)), in percentage points. |
go_wp_diff | double | go_wp minus the recommended option's WP (0 when going for it is the recommendation, otherwise <= 0). |
punt_wp_diff | double | punt_wp minus the recommended option's WP (0 when punting is the recommendation, otherwise <= 0). |
fg_wp_diff | double | fg_wp minus the recommended option's WP (0 when the field goal is the recommendation, otherwise <= 0). |
fourth_down_recommendation | character | Max-WP fourth-down choice among "go", "punt", and "field_goal". |
two_pt_wp | double | Win probability of going for two: conversion-probability-weighted mean of the 2-point and 0-point outcomes (cfb4th port). |
xp_wp | double | |
prob_2pt | double | |
two_pt_wp_diff | double | two_pt_wp minus xp_wp; positive favors going for two. |
two_pt_recommendation | character | Point-after recommendation: "go_for_2" when two_pt_wp exceeds xp_wp, otherwise "kick_xp". |
qbr_epa | double | EPA variant used as an input to the QBR calculation. |
weight | double | Official weight, in pounds |
non_fumble_sack | logical | True when the play was a sack that did not produce a fumble. |
sack_epa | double | EPA credited to the play when it is a sack. |
pass_epa | double | EPA credited to the play when it is a pass. |
rush_epa | double | EPA credited to the play when it is a rush. |
pen_epa | double | EPA attributable to a penalty on the play. |
sack_weight | double | Weighting applied to the sack component of the play. |
pass_weight | double | Weighting applied to the pass component of the play. |
rush_weight | double | Weighting applied to the rush component of the play. |
pen_weight | double | Weighting applied to the penalty component of the play. |
action_play | logical | True when the play advanced the game state -- excludes timeouts, end-of-period markers and other non-action rows. |
athlete_name | character | |
sack_player_id2 | character | ESPN athlete id of the second sacker on a split sack (regex fallback for an ESPN sidecar blind spot). |
passer_player_id | character | Unique identifier for the player that attempted the pass. |
rusher_player_id | character | Unique identifier for the player that attempted the run. |
receiver_player_id | character | Unique identifier for the receiver that was targeted on the pass. |
punter_player_id | character | Unique identifier for the punter. |
fg_kicker_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the field-goal kicker. |
sack_player_id | character | Unique identifier of the player who recorded a solo sack. |
punt_return_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the punt returner. |
kickoff_return_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the kickoff returner. |
interception_player_id | character | Unique identifier for the player that intercepted the pass. |
pass_breakup_player_id | character | |
fumble_forced_player_id | character | |
fumble_recovered_player_id | character | |
fumble_player_id | character | |
punt_block_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the player who blocked the punt. |
punt_block_return_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the player who returned the blocked punt. |
kickoff_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the player kicking off. |
fg_block_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the player who blocked the field goal. |
fg_return_player_id | character | ESPN athlete id of the player who returned the blocked or missed field goal. |
xp_kicker_player_id | character | |
ep | double | Using the scoring event probabilities, the estimated expected points with respect to the possession team for the given play. |
epa | double | Expected points added (EPA) by the posteam for the given play. |
ep_start | double | |
ep_end | double |
Example
# For most use cases, call the high-level entry point instead. ``enrich_nfl_pbp`` scores EP, derives EPA, and adds WP/WPA/CP/CPOE in one shot on any nflverse-shape frame
from sportsdataverse.nfl import load_nfl_pbp
from sportsdataverse.nfl.ep_wp import enrich_nfl_pbp
pbp = load_nfl_pbp([2023])
enriched = enrich_nfl_pbp(pbp)
print(enriched.select("game_id", "ep", "epa").head())
``calculate_epa`` directly requires ESPN-internal columns
(``EP_start``, ``EP_end``, ``EP_start_touchback``, ``type.text``,
etc.) produced by ``NFLPlayProcess``. It is called internally by
``NFLPlayProcess.__process_epa`` and by the ``enrich_nfl_pbp``
orchestrator — a naked ``calculate_epa(load_nfl_pbp([2023]))``
will raise ``KeyError`` because those columns are absent from a
nflverse frame.