El Tráfico had a wild ending, Nashville cruised to a win and Orlando City’s defense struggled to hold steady. It was truly a week unlike any other. 

As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com. The author does not decide the rankings, but he does get a little rush out of moving your team in particular down a few spots when it happens.

Nashville have been Supporters' Shield winners-elect for months now, but they went ahead and made it official this weekend with a 2-0 win over CF Montréal. The big worry now is that they might unintentionally pull off the gas with nothing left to play for. It can be tough to find your footing again in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

The good news is the rest of their schedule is all potential playoff previews. Gaining an early mental edge against a future playoff opponent is an enticing incentive. Maybe the points record is too. Nashville need five points to surpass Inter Miami's single-season benchmark of 74 set in 2024.

Just when it seemed like the Herons might be course-correcting and preparing to do the whole “we have the best player in the history of the sport and we’re suddenly a buzzsaw now” thing, they went and face-planted against the Red Bulls. Like, got worked against the Red Bulls. Per FotMob, New York generated 3.65 xG on 19 shots to Miami’s 1.02 xG on 12 shots.

The 2-0 loss ended a three-game Herons' winning streak that looks at least a little suspect considering they faced D.C., NYCFC and Atlanta. In fact, their last win against a playoff side came all the way back on July 22 against Chicago. Miami have gone 1W-2L-3D against teams above the playoff line since the FIFA World Cup break. They’ve got three matches against teams above the line on the way.

The ‘Caps had a rough night in Colorado. A 1-0 loss included early exits due to injury to wingers Emmanuel Sabbi and Yadaly Diaby. Sabbi has had an outstanding season while Diaby has produced three goal contributions in nine appearances since arriving from Ligue 2 side Grenoble in September.

Vancouver were already dealing with a handful of injuries coming into the match. Now, they’ll have to defend what’s become a one-point lead at the top of the West with a roster that might be even more shorthanded.

The Revs ended Saturday night one spot ahead of Inter Miami in the standings after ending the Union’s 15-match unbeaten run. The 2-1 win virtually sealed a top-four finish and put four points of distance between them and fourth-place Chicago.

New England have won seven of their last 10 matches now, but have a few more big tests left. They’ll close the year with Red Bull, Miami and Orlando. A win over Miami may be enough to clinch a second-place finish in the East.

Dallas are on the verge of taking the top spot in the West. They broke open the dam late against San Jose in what turned into a dominant 3-0 win. Meanwhile, Vancouver and St. Louis faltered. Dallas are now just one point behind the first-place ‘Caps and have a relatively favorable schedule the rest of the way. They’ll take on 10th-place Columbus, last-place SKC and eighth-place Colorado.

With Petar Musa continuing to look like the best striker in MLS — he’s up to 22 goals after his brace this weekend — a deep playoff run is within reach for this group.

It took 16 matches (and a short-term injury absence for Cavan Sullivan) for someone to finally get the better of the Union under interim head coach Ryan Richter. The second-place Revs had a little more finishing luck in what became a 2-1 Philly loss, their first since May 24. 

It will take something special to reach a top-four spot now, but, hey, “special” is all they’ve done lately. The fact they’re on the verge of clinching a playoff spot is one of the year’s most remarkable stories.

It’s a well-deserved reward for one of the most impressive runs of form we’ve ever seen in MLS.

Their league form is faltering a bit lately, though. They fell 3-0 in a hangover game against RSL over the weekend. After not losing for months, St. Louis have suddenly lost back-to-back matches. Which… yeah, they’re almost definitely fine. It’s MLS, it happens. It’s not even worth pretending like this is an actual trend yet. Good soccer team.

Chicago took advantage of a few critical Atlanta United mistakes and rolled to a 3-2 road win. Those three points ended a two-game losing streak and may have sealed their place in the top four with three games remaining. They’re now four points ahead of fifth-place Charlotte. That’s even with Robert Lewandowski going scoreless for seven games now.

Anyway, here’s Phillip Zinckernagel scoring on an indirect free kick from six whole yards away.

A cross-country road trip to Portland ended with Charlotte allowing a 90+6’ winner.

The Crown have hit a wall down the homestretch. They’ve earned just four points from their last five matches and the gap between them and fourth-place Chicago is now four points with three games remaining. Charlotte have trended toward a more open style of play over the last couple of months and it’s led to less defensive solidity. They’ve allowed 11 goals over that five-match stretch.

The Quakes fell apart late in a 3-0 loss to Dallas. They’ve won just once in their last five matches now.

Fortunately for them, no one behind them seems all that interested in a home playoff spot. With four matches remaining, San Jose are still in fourth. 

A scoreless draw with Minnesota pushed Houston’s winless streak to seven matches. The bright side here is that they haven’t lost in four matches either. And those four draws have them equal on points with fourth-place San Jose heading into the final three matches of the year.

They need some juice heading into the postseason, though. A three-game closing stretch of Seattle, Portland and St. Louis doesn’t leave them any clear get-right games.

Considering… all that, a draw probably seemed a little disappointing in the end, especially after LAFC came flying back into El Tráfico from two goals down. 

Still, they took a point and clinched a playoff berth. With two games left, they can still finish in the top four or a Wild Card spot.

The Lions will be kicking themselves over allowing NYCFC to find a 90+10’ equalizer in their 2-2 draw on Saturday. Suddenly, avoiding the Wild Card round has become a genuine concern.

They’re equal on points with eighth-place Cincinnati, who grabbed six points last week. With Orlando’s defense as volatile as it is — to put it incredibly politely — and a three-game gauntlet of Chicago, Charlotte and New England on the way, it’d be fair to start worrying a bit.

Not just about a Wild Card spot, but about a playoff spot in general. The 10th-place Crew are one of the hottest teams in the league and they’re just four points behind Orlando.

New Designated Player Morgan Whittaker continued to endear himself to Rapids fans with an 81st-minute winner against Vancouver.

He’s scored prettier goals in his career, but that doesn’t change the fact that Whittaker — starting in this one as a false nine — and the Rapids outplayed first-place Vancouver in a critical match. The Rapids are three points clear of 10th-place RSL with three games remaining.

They didn’t come out on top in the US Open Cup final, but it’s not all bad news. Make it three straight MLS wins for the Crew and five wins in six matches after their 4-2 win over Toronto. They’re officially Hot At The Right Time.

Still, it’s not a guarantee they’ll get into the postseason. With three matches left, they’re a point behind ninth-place New York. Up next: A road trip to face an FC Dallas side fighting for first place in the West.

Seattle had a chance to keep some distance between themselves and the Wild Card round. They took a 2-0 lead in the second half against San Diego annnnddd then the wheels fell off. San Diego came back to steal a draw in stoppage time.

The Sounders still technically have just one loss in their last 12 games, but seven of those matches have been draws.

A double gameweek with back-to-back matches against D.C. United provided a perfect dose of medicine for Cincy after their most recent Hell Is Real loss.

Cincinnati took the first meeting 2-1 and followed it up with a 2-0 win on the road. The six-point week pushed them up to eighth in the East and put a four-point gap between them and the 10th-place Crew.

El Tráfico nearly ended in spectacular disaster, but the Galaxy survived and held onto a point after blowing a 2-0 second-half lead.

It’s not ideal when all you can really say is “it could have been worse” but, uh, yeah, it could have been worse. Losing after taking a two-goal lead against your biggest rival is the kind of thing that can derail a team for a few games. And LA really can’t afford that right now.

They’re two points ahead of 10th-place RSL and have played one more game than everyone else around them.

RSL didn’t hear no bell.

They looked dead in the water just a few weeks ago. With their backs against the wall, they’ve sprung to life and taken 10 points from their last five matches. That includes this weekend's shocking (regardless of how hungover St. Louis were from the USOC final) 3-0 win over St. Louis. 

Yeah, St. Louis picked up a first-half red card, but It’s RSL’s second 3-0 win against an MLS Cup presented by Audi contender in five matches. Those wins have them within two points of the Galaxy. Oh, and RSL have a game in hand.

The Baby Bulls are one point above the playoff line with three matches remaining.

Alexander Aravena kept the Timbers’ season alive a little while longer with a 90+6’ header that delivered Portland a deserved 3-2 win over Charlotte. Ariel Lassiter added a brace in a win that saw Portland outcreate Charlotte by a wide margin. 

Per FotMob, Portland generated 3.48 xG to Charlotte’s 0.88. The win kept them within four points of the playoff line.

Toronto fell 4-2 in a six-pointer against Columbus. To make the playoffs, they’ll have to close a three-point gap between them and New York AND jump the Crew now, too.

San Diego recovered from a 2-0 second-half deficit against Seattle to rescue a point in stoppage time. That likely won’t be enough to rescue their playoff hopes, though. They’re six points back.

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Their scoreless draw with Houston didn’t technically end their season. Just mostly ended it. There’s a six-point gap between Minnesota and the playoff line.

They rescued a 2-2 draw with Orlando in the 10th minute of stoppage time, but it won’t do much for their playoff hopes. One win in 14 matches is a rough, rough run of form. It has them four points back of the ninth-place Red Bulls.

Myrto Uzuni’s brace turned a 1-0 second-half deficit to SKC into a 2-1 win. Austin’s playoff hopes are still (technically) alive. At least for one more week.

Goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos played a pass to the wrong team and picked up a pass from a teammate. Both moments led to goals for Chicago and a 3-2 loss for Atlanta.

Despite multiple changes to the roster over the summer, there have been very few signs that things are changing for the better in Atlanta.

D.C. United would very much like to not see FC Cincinnati again any time soon. After two losses to Cincy last week, D.C.’s playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread. It’s a six-point gap between them and the line.

Going up against Nashville was always going to be an uphill battle.

They created plenty of chances. It didn’t matter. Despite taking a 1-0 second-half lead against Austin, SKC fell 2-1.

Those were goals 76 and 77 allowed on the year. They’re one goal away from matching 2024 San Jose’s all-time MLS record for goals allowed in a season.