10/26 - Eastern Conference Power Rankings 4

Nashville SC are your 2026 Supporters' Shield winners. Nashville clinched with a 2-0 victory in Montréal. Mukhtar and Surridge scored, the defense played great, and Schwake kept another clean sheet. It's not hard to see why Nashville are the best team in the league, and why they have a real chance at making history. With just 5 more points, the Coyotes will set the MLS single season points record. For a group as talented as Nashville, and with two home games remaining, this accomplishment is well within the realm of possibility.

New England established themselves as one of MLS' elite in the last week. After a couple concerning results, the Revs turned around and have beaten two of the East's top clubs. Their defense stole the show in both matches, keeping a clean sheet against Chicago and only allowing Philadelphia to score deep into stoppage time. Matt Turner is arguably the best 'keeper in the league, and Carles Gil is one of the best field players in the league. This team is legit.

Philadelphia have faltered in recent games, with their 15 match unbeaten run coming to an end against New England. They've been tested of late, facing some of the Eastern Conference's best. The Union have come away with a respectable 4 points, and face the biggest test of all this weekend heading into Nashville. Philadelphia are now 5 points off a home playoff spot, but don't let it take away from their tremendous stretch of results since the World Cup break.

Chicago have been mostly good of late, picking up 4 wins in their last 6 outings. They are now 4 points above 5th place Charlotte, and have two of their final 3 matches at home. The triple threat of Haile-Selassie, Zinckernagel, and Lewandowski is one of the most potent in the league, and in Mbekezeli Mbokazi they have a match winner in the center of defense.

Miami took 9 points from 9 a couple weeks ago, but their most recent showing was alarming. For as much talent on this roster, there is no cohesion. They can get some wins where they outscore opponents, but then they go out and are so open defensively it's painful to watch. This is exactly what happened on Saturday against Red Bulls. Miami were pitiful when they turned the ball over, and they lost 0-2 in what easily could've been 0-6. It's impossible to take this team serious with how pathetic they are on the defensive side of the ball.

Charlotte have been far too inconsistent of late. Their recent 3 game road trip featured a respectable performance in Philadelphia sandwiched by losses to Columbus and Portland where The Crown were played off the park. All of a sudden, they've allowed 10 goals in their last 4, even with Kristijan Kahlina playing well in net. Charlotte need to right the ship defensively and find some consistency heading into the playoffs.

The story of the season hasn't really changed for Orlando: they're one of the best attacking outfits but also one of the worst defensively. It makes all their games entertaining, and it's hard to count them out with the number of match winners they have in attack. Amid all the attention(and rightfully so) given to Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis, it's worth noting that Martín Ojeda has been lights out lately. And they will need him to continue his fine form, as Orlando end their season against 3 of the top 5 teams in the East.

Columbus Crew are on a roll right now. They have won 5 of their last 6 in league play and are suddenly right in the thick of playoff contention. Not just that, but they are playing the best soccer of their season right now. Laurent Courtois has this team purring right now: they have game changers in the attack and have looked better defensively as of late. The only blemish in the past couple weeks was their eventual shoot out loss to St. Louis City SC in the US Open Cup Final. But, if they are able to continue their red-hot form and sneak into the playoffs, they could be a team that no one wants to face.

What a roller coaster of a week it was for FC Cincinnati. After losing in the Hell is Real derby and falling to the brink of the playoff picture, Cincinnati rebounded with back to back victories against DC United. Their physicality and direct style of play could have posed a serious problem to Cincinnati's defense, but they stood strong and climbed to 4 points above the playoff line. This means that they are now just as close to 10th place Columbus as they are to 6th place Philadelphia. With just 3 games left in the season, FC Cincinnati have put themselves in a good position to clinch their fifth straight MLS playoffs appearance.

New York followed up 2 embarrassing losses with a resounding 2-0 victory over Inter Miami that should've been more. They looked ruthless in transition against the Herons, who were wide open defensively, in a game which highlighted the abilities of some of their high leverage players. The Bazán and Parker partnership has been extremely effective when they have played, as they kept yet another clean sheet this past weekend. The Red Bulls will have to continue to play like this if they want to stave off the teams below them and avoid missing the postseason for the second consecutive season.

Toronto FC now sit just 3 points out from a playoff position after going 2-1-1 in their last 4 games. Their last game was a devastating loss to Columbus, who have now leapfrogged them, but they are going to have to shake it off and move forward. Their next 2 games are against DC United and Atlanta United, which provides a big chance to get 6 points in the next week. If Toronto can get their best players on the field, they might just be able to make an improbable postseason appearance.

New York City has one league win since the calendar flipped to August. It's been a brutal couple of months as the team just can't figure out how to turn draws into wins. They did turn a loss into a draw in their last match, thanks to late heroics from young Johnny Shore. Alonso Martínez scored his first of the year as well, and if he can get going, NYCFC are a totally different team. They play the 3 teams below them to end the season, with two of those at home, so you couldn't ask for a better schedule to end the season. Now, they need to capitalize on these games and try to sneak into the playoffs.

DC got a huge win against Red Bulls to put them back into the playoff fight, but since then have dropped 3 straight. Their last two, back to back defeats against Cincinnati, may be the nail in the coffin. They only scored one goal in these matches. If Baribo isn't scoring, it's not clear where goals are coming from for United, who now sit 6 points behind 9th place. They need to start winning games and they need to start winning now.

Atlanta United are still alive on technicality, but it's been clear this team wasn't going to make the playoffs for a while. They have no patterns of play in attack and their goalkeeping has been a let down. Atlanta suffered two more home defeats this week, pushing them into double digits for the 2026 campaign. No other team has lost this many matches in their home stadium. This must be the first order of business for next year.

Can it get any worse for CF Montréal? In the last 7 days, two teams have won a trophy at Stade Saputo, and neither of them were Montréal. They suffered a historic defeat to CPL side Forge FC in the Canadian Championship final on Wednesday before being pumped 0-2 by Nashville on the weekend. The veterans aren't playing well, the young players aren't progressing, and the coaching decisions are hurting the team. It's a disaster.