The Dallas Cowboys should make the two offensive changes after the bye week

There's a lot to blame for the Dallas Cowboys' slow start, but their offensive woes were probably the most disappointing thing in the first six games.

In recent seasons, Dallas has built an explosive offense that has consistently scored more than 25 points per game. Only once this year have the Cowboys scored more than 25 points in a game, and that was in their first game of the year against the now 1-5 Cleveland Browns.

It's clear that what the Cowboys are currently doing isn't working. So if they want to come out of the bye week with more offensive success, they have to change something. With that in mind, today we'll take a look at two offensive changes the Cowboys should make next week.

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1) Cut ties with Ezekiel Elliott and promote Dalvin Cook to the active roster

There's no denying that Ezekiel Elliott will go down in history as one of the Cowboys' greatest running backs of all time. In his prime, Elliott was one of the league's most dominant defenders. However, Elliott's return to Dallas this season was unproductive.

Every week it becomes clearer that Elliott has no juice left in the tank. The veteran running back has the third-worst success rate (21.1%) among qualified running backs and ranks last in the league with a shocking 0% explosive rush rate. You can't succeed in football in 2024 if you have absolutely no explosiveness, and unfortunately, Elliott has gotten to that point.

Dalvin Cook won't immediately negate all of Dallas' problems in the run game. In fact, he could go down the same path as Elliott and prove he just doesn't have it anymore. But considering how much Elliott and Dallas have struggled in the run game overall, there's no reason not to make this move.

Cook will at least provide some relatively fresh legs and could potentially give the Cowboys a decent second back to pair with Rico Dowdle.

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2) Make a concerted effort to involve Jake Ferguson more consistently in the passing game

Third-year tight end Jake Ferguson has developed into a great player. The former Wisconsin Badger had a career year last season, catching 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns. Ferguson followed in the footsteps of previous Dallas tight ends and became a great security blanket for Dak Prescott.

In his short Cowboys career, the Cowboys performed well as a team when the tight end achieved individual success. Dallas is 8-3 when Ferguson receives 47 or more yards in a game, 5-2 when he scores a touchdown, and an impressive 8-0 when his Y/T is 10 yards or is more.

The last stat in particular shows the importance of including Ferguson in the offense and taking advantage of his ability to make plays on the field. When you get the ball in Ferguson's hands, good things often happen, and the Cowboys just haven't done that enough when it counts so far this year.

Next week against the 49ers and moving forward, the Cowboys will have to work hard to get consistent targets and opportunities from their second-best offensive weapon.