The Dallas Cowboys know to win the NFC East they need to take advantage of games they should win, like on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The Lions are without Matthew Stafford, and even when they have had Stafford in the lineup they have struggled since the first couple of weeks of the season.

Even though this game should be a comfortable win, it's not one the Cowboys can overlook or they will be upset. Let's look at two major x-factors to make sure that doesn't happen.

Ezekiel Elliott

It's pretty obvious that one of the best running backs in football would be an x-factor in this game, but after the way Ezekiel Elliott performed in the last game, it's even more important that he has a big game.

Zeke had one of the worst games of his career against the Minnesota Vikings rushing 20 times for only 47 yards. The Vikings made it a point to take away the former Ohio State standout and he couldn't overcome that.

The Lions have struggled all season against the run giving up 129,7 yards per game which is 27th in football. The Lions very well could stack the box and try to take him away, but he needs to overcome that. In this game and going forward it's going to be important that the team has a balanced attack on offense.

On the season, Elliott has rushed for 788 yards with two touchdowns. If he can add 150 yards and a touchdown to that total he should feel really good about his game, and the Cowboys should feel good about their chances to come away with a win.

Getting out to a fast start

The biggest x-factor in this game all comes down to what type of start the Cowboys can get out to. Against the Vikings the Cowboys fell behind 14-0 and even though they came back late it wasn't enough.

Against the Lions, they will be facing backup quarterback Jeff Driskel and the last thing the team wants to do is give him confidence.

If the Lions hang around it's going to give Driskel confidence that he can compete against the Cowboys and that is not good.

The Cowboys offense needs to get a couple of touchdowns in the first quarter, and the defense needs to try to create a couple of turnovers early.

If Zeke can have a big game, and the team can get out to a fast start, they should come away with a big win in Detroit.