9/21 - Eastern Conference Power Rankings 2

Nashville SC dominated Chicago with a 3-0 victory, with goals coming from all 3 of their designated players. With this win, Nashville becomes the first team to officially clinch their spot in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs, with 8 games still yet to be played. After a faltering a bit as of late, this result is a huge statement that Nashville are still the best team in the league. 

New England continue to impress, even without Jack Harrison. They have won three straight, including commanding performances over Chicago and Orlando. The Revs now sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, above Miami thanks to the wins tiebreaker. With one of the league's better defenses, they have an excellent foundation. With Carles Gil running the show in attack, they're always going to get chances. Now the Spaniard has a competent supporting cast, and this team is a legitimate threat to come out of the East.

Philadelphia are red hot. In fact, they seem unbeatable after a miraculous comeback at Sporting Park, where they scored 4 goals in the second half to reverse an early deficit. The Union's start to this match is concerning, but they've now won 5 straight in which they've scored 19 goals and conceded just 4. Their schedule gets tougher from here, but they're a team nobody wants to play right now.

Charlotte have been very good of late, solidifying themselves as a strong contender for a home playoff spot. Of particular note is their road form. Charlotte picked up 7 points from a possible 9 in a 3 game road trip. We know they're always going to be a tough outing at Bank of America Stadium, but they've finally began stacking results on the road this year. This comes with flexibility in how they can win, as they can rely on their attack to outscore the opposition or their solid defense. This year's version of Charlotte FC is the most complete we've ever seen from the club in their young history.

Make it 4 straight draws for Inter Miami. Their defense is appalling but their offense continues to deliver. Luckily for the Herons, 2/3 of the Eastern Conference is struggling for consistency, so they are still comfortably in a home playoffs position. New head coach Kily González will have the rest of the season to figure out his defense if Miami looks to pose any sort of threat in the playoffs.

After 6 consecutive wins across all competitions, Chicago is now winless in their last 7. Yes, their schedule of late has been very tough, but it has proven that they still have some work to do if they want to cement themselves amongst the elite in the east. And their schedule doesn't get even easier. If they want to secure a home playoff spot, they are going to have to figure out what their best starting lineup is and shore up their defensive woes.

New York now has 2 consecutive shutout wins. They are one of only 4 teams in the league that has a win streak, and they will play one of the other 4, St. Louis, in their final match before the international break. While their performances haven't exactly been convincing, their defense has been impressive, especially center back Julián Bazán. They have stopped their midseason skid and have put themselves in a good position for a playoff spot as we approach the home stretch after the break.

Rescuing a point against one of the top teams in the west in one of the most difficult places to play after a long summer is good work from Cincinnati. After a couple blowouts, they have responded with 2 come from behind draws. Their defense remains a serious problem, but the Knifey Lions showed fight in the last 2 games that they didn't have against Philadelphia or Nashville. 

Orlando have lots of talent in their attack. Almost too much. But they cannot defend. Manager Martín Perelman tried to solve this by instituting a very high line, but this hasn't fixed much. Said high line was dismantled by New England as Orlando fell 2-4 in a game they were pretty clearly second best. It showed the gulf between a veritable contender and a team who merely has good moments.

With a devastating home loss to rivals New York Red Bulls, NYCFC are currently on the outside looking in. It's a tough pill to swallow for Pigeons fans, but there is reason for optimism. First, the performance on Friday in the Hudson River Derby was actually quite good. They were on the front foot for most of the match and created lots of good chances. They simply couldn't finish. Second, and this is critical, Alonso Martínez is back on the field. He isn't at his best yet, but is still impacting the game in ways that make his team much better. If he can get healthy and develop a good partnership with Nicolás Fernández Mercau, this is a team that will make the playoffs.

Columbus Crew took care of business against Montréal this weekend, but they still sit 7 points outside the playoffs. However, what's more important for this club is what they did on Wednesday. With their 2-1 victory over Orlando, Columbus advanced to the final of the US Open Cup, which they will host vs St. Louis in late October. Columbus has been a much better side at home than they have been on the road, and they have some match winners on their roster. Despite their position in the table, the Crew have a genuine shot at winning silverware this year.

Toronto looked like they were making a late surge into the playoffs. Then Djordje Mihailovic got injured. Again. As was the problem with the Reds at the beginning of the year, they simply cannot get their best players on the field at the same time. Without their number 10, they've been a far worse team. Toronto has dropped two straight in league play and don't look like a team that's going to be playing postseason soccer in 2026.

Depite thoroughly outplaying Charlotte FC this weekend, DC United lost 2-1, leaving them 4 points away from the play in game. Their performance was good, but it was a bad result for a team that looks destined to miss tha playoffs for a seventh consecutive season. They will now play the majority of their remaining games on the road, and while they aren't terrible away from home, they will need to start stacking wins to make it into the playoffs.

Atlanta United actually got a win this weekend against Portland, with Miranchuk scoring the lone goal in the Pacific Northwest. In spite of the result, there are still more questions than answers for the 5 Stripes. Breel Embolo hasn't lived up to his promise yet, the midfield is a revolving door, and Saturday's strike notwithstanding, Miranchuk still doesn't look like an MLS caliber player. There is no indication of how this team wants to play, nor what the 2027 version of this team will look like.

CF Montréal's form has cratered in the MLS. They have lost 5 straight league games and are now just 3 points away from taking the Wooden Spoon from Sporting Kansas City. A bright spot in Montréal's season has been the Canadian Championship. They have now advanced to the finals against Forge in a game where they are favored to win. A trophy and a spot in next year's Concacaf Champions Cup would dramatically brighten the narrative of their season.