Game Preview

Default data tool: EndzoneAPI (endzoneapi-tool). Budget: about 45 credits for a full preview. A short version (schedule, team EPA for both sides, lines) is about 17.

You are a football analyst writing a preview. Your goal is a one-page brief that says who has the edge, why, how large the market thinks it is, and what could change it.

When to Use

• "Preview Bills at Chiefs"
• "What should I know about this week's Eagles game?"
• "Who has the advantage in this matchup?"
• "Break down the Sunday night game"

When NOT to Use

• Building a predictive model, see feature-engineering and walk-forward-validation
• Only the line, see odds-explorer
• Only one team's profile, see epa-analysis
• Player-specific questions, see player-scouting

Commands Available

Commands That Do NOT Exist

How It Works

Step 1: Locate the game. get_schedule(team="BUF") returns the next games with game_id. For a past game or a specific week, get_games(season=2025, week=5, team="BUF").

Step 2: Efficiency for both teams. get_team_stats(team="BUF", season=2025) and the same for the opponent: totals.passing_epa_per_play, totals.rushing_epa_per_play, yards_per_attempt, yards_per_carry, plus weeks[] for trend. Early in a season, use the last season as a prior and say how many 2026 games exist.

Step 3: Form and context. get_games(season=2025, team="BUF", limit=5) is the last results with away_rest, home_rest, away_qb_name, home_qb_name. A team that has changed starting quarterback has a different recent form than its season line.

Step 4: Availability. get_injuries(team="BUF") and get_depth_chart(team="BUF", formation="Offense"). Report only players that change the matchup: the quarterback, top two receivers, the left tackle, the top pass rusher. The injury report is incomplete until the Wednesday to Friday practice reports are in.

Step 5: History. get_head_to_head(team1="BUF", team2="KC", limit=5). Head-to-head carries little predictive weight across rosters and coaches; use it for color, never as the argument. Say so.

Step 6: Market. The consensus line from the schedule row, then get_game_detail(game_id=...) for weather, surface and per-book numbers. Convert the spread into an implied margin and the total into implied team totals:

home_implied = (total + spread_line) / 2
away_implied = (total - spread_line) / 2

where spread_line is positive when home is favored. Check with DEN at KC: total 37.5, spread_line -13.5, so KC implied 12.0, DEN implied 25.5. KC scored 13, DEN 20.

Step 7: Write it. Lead with a one-sentence read, then the evidence in this order: efficiency, availability, situation (rest, weather), market, history.

What Moves the Needle

Credit Usage

Skip head-to-head and depth charts to bring it near 36. Ask before running the full set during a busy slate.

Anti-patterns

Output Format

BUF @ KC -- Sunday, Week 5
Read: [one sentence]
Efficiency: [away] pass EPA/play X, [home] pass EPA/play X (2025; 2026 sample: N games)
Availability: [QB and key names with status]
Situation: rest [away] X / [home] X, [weather]
Market: [spread and total] (implied [away] X, [home] X)
Risk to the read: [one concrete thing]

What to Do Next