Broncos know they must reverse a key trend vs. Chargers on Thursday night to pull upset, clinch postseason bid

No team takes the field and tries to get off to a slow start.

In Thursday night games, though, a fast start isn’t just preferred. It’s critical.

Broncos coach Sean Payton noted before his team’s first Thursday night game — Week 7 at New Orleans — that teams leading at halftime on Thursday nights win a disproportionate number of games.

This week, in a potential clinching matchup against a division rival with whom Denver is jockeying for postseason position, that message is getting hammered home.

The Los Angeles Chargers have been a fast-starting team this year in general. That was never more apparent than when they stormed out to a 20-0 lead against Denver in Week 5 at Empower Field.

“Their first-quarter point differential is better than ours,” Payton said Tuesday. “So it’s important.”

Overall this year, the Chargers have outscored opponents 70-36 in the first quarter and by 81 points total in the first half. That difference is far greater than their overall plus-47 margin, meaning they’ve been outscored in the second half.

The Broncos, meanwhile, have been outscored 61-37 in opening quarters but are plus-10 overall in the first half. They’ve done most of their damage late in games, outscoring opponents by 79 after halftime.

These teams are opposites in that regard, then, on a night when history favors the team that plays like the Chargers.

“Just play clean football early,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “Every game you play, especially on a short-week game, you want to play fast early and play clean early. I thought last week (against Indianapolis) we got off to a slow start again. So we’ve got to fix that.

“On the road against a good team, you can’t fall down 13-0 and expect to win every game like that. So just play clean early and play good football.”