It’s very rare that Fox analyst and Hall of Fame QB Terry Bradshaw makes a coherent point, much less an insightful one on the network’s pre-or-post-game broadcasts. Following the Dallas Cowboys 60-minutes-of-frustration effort in a 13-9 loss the New England, not only were viewers once again subjected to Rob Gronkowski’s Patriot-partisan, dude-bro routine, but Cowboys fans also had to get salt poured in the wound by Bradshaw.

For much of the game, the announcing team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (who did an absolutely masterful job of eviscerating the culprits of not just the referee blunders but the Dallas coaching snafus) lamented about how good of a job Stephon Gilmore was doing in shutting down (and out) Dallas No. 1 Amari Cooper.

Cooper was held to zero catches on two official targets after he wasn’t able to corral a late-game fourth down toss that would’ve been a great snag, but the ball came out for a split second when Cooper fell to the ground.

Gilmore had a reception though, an interception that turned into a field goal and a 10-0 for New England.

In the midst of fellow analyst Howie Long giving credit to Gilmore as the game’s best cornerback, Bradshaw interrupted.

“He disappears on the road all year long, Howie. He does! He does.”

Al Green’s internet was quickly consulted to prepare to shout down Bradshaw’s quip on Twitter. Except no retort could be summoned.

Bradshaw is right.

Amari Cooper does indeed disappear in road games.

Split-stats are an interesting way to view a player’s performance over extended periods of time.  When looking at Cooper’s splits between home and road, it’s an astounding difference.

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Cooper Home Games, 2019

5 games: 39 receptions on 49 targets, 673 yards for 17.3 ypr average, 5 TDs, 79.6 catch percentage.

Cooper Road Games, 2019

6 games: 17 receptions on 32 targets, 213 yards for 12.5 ypr average, 2 TDs, 53.1 catch percentage.

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It’s not just this year, either. Although not nearly as drastic a difference, this is something that Cooper has dealt with over his five-year career.

Splits over Cooper’s Career
Split Type	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Yds / Rec	Catch %	Yds/ Tgt	Yds/ Gm
Home (35 games)	274	188	2812	14.96	68.6	10.26	80.3
Road (37 games)	272	146	1982	13.58	53.7	7.29	53.6
Percent Change	.7%	22.3%	29.5%	9.2%	13.9% diff	28.9%	33.3%
Split Type	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Yds / Rec	Catch %	Yds / Tgt	Yds / Gm
Win (38 games)	312	198	3029	15.3	63.5	9.71	79.7
Loss (34 games)	234	136	1765	12.98	58.1	7.54	51.9
Percent Change	25%	31.3%	41.7%	15.2%	5.4% diff	22.3%	34.9%

The most damning performance shift across most players will be seen in a win-loss split, and that mostly holds true for Cooper as well. Players perform better in wins, worse in losses; that should be standard for almost every NFL player.

The one key thing to look at here is his catch-percentage differences. Win or lose, Cooper’s catch percentage is generally in the same ball park. But home or road makes a ridiculous amount of difference in whether or not Cooper hauls in his targets.

Here’s a year-by-year look at Cooper’s home-and-away catch percentage splits.

2019: 79.6% home – 53.1% road
2018: 75.9% home – 63.3% road
2017: 62.5% home – 41.1% road
2016: 64.6% home – 61.2% road
2015: 61.3% home – 50.0% road

In every year but one, Cooper is catching at least 11% less of his targets on the road than at home and this year’s gap of 26.5% is the most egregious of them all.

And if you wondered if this is normal for the Cowboys’ passing offense, it most certainly is not.

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Randall Cobb’s 2019 Splits (w/ Dak Prescott)
Split Type	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Yds / Rec	Catch %	Yds/ Tgt	Yds/ Gm
Home (5 gm)	26	17	280	16.5	65.4	10.77	56.0
Road (5 gm)	34	22	301	13.7	64.7	8.85	60.2

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Michael Gallup’s Career Splits (All w/ Prescott)
Split Type	Targets	Receptions	Yards	Yds / Rec	Catch %	Yds/ Tgt	Yds/ Gm
Home (12 gm)	76	42	681	16.2	55.3	8.96	56.8
Road (13 gm)	67	37	559	15.1	55.2	8.34	43.0

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The other receiving threats for Dallas have remarkably similar catch percentages whether at AT&T Stadium or on the road. Gallup is almost an even split. Cobb is actually targeted more on the road while in Dallas, perhaps because of Cooper’s deficiencies.

Well what about the quarterbacks who are throwing the ball to Cooper? If their completion percentages take a major dip on the road, than that would be at least circumstantial evidence that Cooper’s numbers aren’t on him.

Nope.

Dak Prescott has a 67.5 completion percentage at home and it only drops to 65.0% on the road. His passer rating is 99.7 at home, 94.3 on the road.

Derek Carr, Cooper’s QB in Oakland for 3.5 years, has a slightly wider gulf, but still nothing as alarming as Cooper’s numbers. Carr is 65.3 to 62.0 in completion percentage, 93.6 to 86.5 in passer rating.

This is a Cooper issue.

Two questions arise from this study.

One, how can Dallas advance in the playoffs if they don’t have home-field advantage and their best target is disappearing in road games? Because the sample size was so small it wasn’t a thing, but this played out in last year’s playoffs. Cooper went from 15.1 yards a catch and a catch percentage of 78 at home against the Seahawks to 10.8 yards a catch and a catch percentage of 66.7 on the road against the Rams.

Two, how do you right-size a contract for a wideout who is probably the league’s best in the eight games in front of the home crowd but is being erased in the eight travel games?

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