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.