NFL Schedule Week 9: TV Times, Coverage Map and Live Stream Guide | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Cincinnati Bengals became the first NFL team to move to 8-0 this season, setting a benchmark that Carolina, Denver and New England will hope to match on Sunday.

The midpoint of the 2015 NFL season is an interesting time for these undefeated teams looking to maintain their unblemished status. It is too early in the campaign and they are not so far ahead in their divisions that they can simply rest on their laurels. The pressure right now is immense, the scrutiny intense.

Perhaps if a couple of these teams manage to get to around 12-0 and lock up the division, the coaches can figure out how to balance the pursuit of regular-season perfection with peaking for the playoffs. 

For now, it's just another week of desperate, all-out war, even for the teams at the top.

Here's the full schedule for Week 9. To check out which parts of the country will see which games, check out the coverage maps at 506 Sports. Live streams of all out-of-market NFL games are available via DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket. 

Keys for the Undefeated Teams

Green Bay vs. Carolina: Contain Aaron Rodgers, Avoid Giving Up the Big Play

Sunday marks yet another tough test for Aaron Rodgers in the Carolina defense, second in Football Outsiders' Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) metric behind only the Broncos. In Week 8 against Denver, the Packers managed just 10 points, while Rodgers passed for a mere 77 yards, with no scores or interceptions.

Part of the Broncos' success was unrelenting pressure and limiting Rodgers to quick passes. Rodgers' longest pass in that game went just nine yards, and a mere four of his 22 attempts were considered "deep" throws, per Pro Football Reference.

Keeping Rodgers grounded is easier said than done. Panthers cornerback Josh Norman gushed about his playmaking ability.

"He's the guy that, if you're looking for a franchise quarterback, he'll come to the top of your mind," Norman said Thursday, per ESPN.com's David Newton. "His mobility is superb. His pocket presence is unreal. And his throwing on the run, I mean, the greatest."

He's also quite adept at baiting defenses into penalties, where he can capitalize on the free play:

Carolina will have to stay disciplined in containing Rodgers, while still getting enough pressure on him that he can't stand back there and throw. If Rodgers does find time to survey the field, Norman will be tasked with blanketing his top target, whether that's Randall Cobb or James Jones. NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano is well aware of his penchant for stopping the big play: 

Andrew Siciliano @AndrewSiciliano

Josh Norman goes airborne/horizontal at least once a week to save a TD.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller's advice for playing Norman is quite simple:

Matt Miller @nfldraftscout

Keep the ball away from Josh Norman.

The ability of linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis to spy Rodgers while maintaining their duties in coverage is another key to the defense's success.

The Panthers' own passing attack isn't what anyone would call explosive. Cam Newton has thrown 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions, and the team is 29th in passing yards per game. It could be tough for him to win an old-fashioned QB duel. Keeping Rodgers off the field and avoiding giving up the big play should allow the Panthers to control the game with their league-best rushing attack and continue the undefeated run. 

Patriots Can't Afford to Get Complacent 

New England faces the 3-4 Washington Redskins in Week 9, a team the Patriots should beat with relative ease. They are more talented at just about every position group, and the gap is supremely wide at key positions such as quarterback. 

Still, there's no reason that an upset, or even a tight ballgame, can't happen. Washington is coming off a bye, meaning plenty of extra time to rest up and prepare for the best team it'll face all season. Its last game was a supremely impressive 31-30 comeback win over Tampa Bay, in which Kirk Cousins completed 82.5 percent of his passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. 

Working in New England's favor is that the Redskins are coming into this game with a banged-up secondary. The Associated Press has the details (h/t FoxSports.com): 

The Washington Redskins' top three cornerbacks -- DeAngelo Hall, Chris Culliver and Bashaud Breeland -- are all still dealing with injuries and considered questionable for Sunday's game at the New England Patriots. 

Culliver sat out Friday's practice, instead doing a workout in a pool for his hurt knee, and says he won't know before Saturday whether he can play this weekend.

Hall (right toe) and Breeland (right hamstring) were both limited in practice Friday, as were receiver DeSean Jackson (left hamstring), linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (broken right hand) and center Kory Lichtensteiger (neck).

This doesn't bode well for a team staring down a date with Tom Brady. The 38-year-old quarterback has been as great as ever in 2015, with 20 touchdown passes and one lone interception.

Wily wideouts Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are now joined by the lanky Brandon LaFell on the outside, meaning all kinds of matchup nightmares are possible in this one. Then there's the irrepressible Rob Gronkowski, who has scored a touchdown in three straight games.

If the Redskins aren't at full strength on defense—and really, even if they are—Brady should have ample opportunities to link up with his various talented pass-catchers. The pass rush is uninspiring, tied for 23rd in the league with 13 sacks.

Cousins ripped apart a mediocre Buccaneers defense in Week 8. It will take a truly Herculean effort for him to match the Patriots' expected output on offense. MassLive.com's Kevin Duffy noted with the run game likely to struggle, he'll have to play a good game and make sure to link up with tight end Jordan Reed: 

So....it's all on Kirk Cousins. His top target is tight end Jordan Reed, who ranks fourth among tight ends averaging 70 yards per game. Since Reed was drafted in 2013, the Redskins are 2-12 (0.14 win percentage) when he doesn't play. They're tearing it up at 8-17 (0.32 win percentage) when he does play. And he's playing Sunday.

The Patriots have done well against tight ends thus far, limiting Jason Witten to five catches for 33 yards and shutting down Charles Clay to the tune of three catches for 19 yards. Reed isn't quite like either player, but he compares more favorably to Clay. He moves like a receiver and can separate on routes down the field. Patrick Chung, who is in the midst of his best NFL season, could draw the matchup.

As long as the Patriots play the way everyone knows they are capable of playing, this game should be a route. Cousins, of course, won't like that.

Denver vs. Indianapolis: Peyton Manning Must Limit Mistakes on Offense

With the Broncos defense likely to put in another pulverizing shift on Sunday against a struggling Andrew Luck and the Colts' moribund offense—Indy's attack ranks 21st in DVOA, per Football Outsiders—it's up to Peyton Manning and the offense to keep it cool, not try to do too much and take care of the football. 

It's been a relatively trying season for the legendary Manning. With age finally taking its toll, Manning ranks 21st in the league in total QBR, per ESPN.com, and is on pace this year to have more interceptions while throwing for fewer yards and touchdowns than in any season since joining Denver.

The Broncos are 10th in the league in turnovers with 12—with 11 of them coming via Manning interceptions—but still plus-five in turnovers thanks to that marauding, magnificent defense.

The Broncos beat the Packers handily last week, and Manning didn't even throw a touchdown pass. Giving a team featuring the likes of the talented Luck—who may yet shake out of this mega-slump—extra possessions seems like the quickest way to lose what should be a very winnable game, even if it's on the road in Indianapolis, Manning's old stomping grounds.

It could be an emotional game for Manning, potentially his last in Indy, writes Benbow: 

But even if he doesn't retire after this season, the NFL divisional schedule rotation won't bring the Broncos back to Indy until 2019. The Colts will play in Denver next season. The teams could play in Indy during the regular season in 2017 or '18 if they finish in the same place in their divisions the previous season, or they could meet in the playoffs.

Even if Manning looks shaky or overcome by the moment, the Broncos could turn to the run game. Ronnie Hillman has emerged as the lead back, scoring twice against Green Bay. He's a fairly sure-handed tailback. He hasn't yet fumbled this year, and so far in his career, puts the ball on the ground every 66.2 carries.

One might say he's due for a fumble, but his fumble sample size is still relatively small, as he's been a change-of-pace guy for the majority of his career. There's little to worry about there.

If Hillman tires, the Broncos can still pound the ball with C.J. Anderson. The third-year back is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this year, but hey, he's fumbled just once in his young career.

A methodical, even-keeled approach on offense combined with the stifling defense equals another Denver win.