MLS Power Rankings: Inter Miami stumble, Columbus Crew take advantage, LAFC near freefall

A draw vs Seattle and a loss to St. Louis has them on track for the Wooden Spoon. After their loss to CITY, forward Jeremy Ebobisse sounded off on the club, their performances of late and how much of a trainwreck 2024 has been.

“Everything is a disaster, frankly.”

“We can’t talk about next year because I don’t know if I’m going to be here next year. I don’t know if some of the guys in the locker room will be here”

Chicago are now in a race to not finish at the bottom of the league with the Earthquakes. The season is a wash, and now, they just need to finish the campaign without ending in last.

Drew Montreal midweek, and pummeled into the ground by Charlotte, 4-0, Saturday evening. Caleb Porter's debut season in New England continues to get worse and worse.

They beat San Jose Saturday evening, but of late, that's no different than any MLS side. They're likely to fall short of postseason contention, with the sophomore slump overtaking them.

Officially eliminated from playoff contention after a loss to rivals Minnesota United in front of their home fans at the weekend. Only thing that can salvage their season is an Open Cup title Wednesday evening.

D.C. are fighting for their playoff lives, scraping alongside a handful of teams in the East. They lost 4-0 to the Union Sunday evening, one of those sides they're competing against.

That's not ideal.

Manager Josh Wolff is on the hottest of hot seats at the moment. Austin are playing lifeless with little to no inspiration at the moment. A 2-1 loss to a fellow struggling team in Toronto doesn't help.

They're five points outside the playoffs, and it feels like a mountain to climb for them.

CJ Callaghan may have hit Nashville's Fifth and Broadway after NSC's 2-2 draw with reigning Supporters' Shield winners FC Cincinnati Saturday evening. It came after a midweek victory over the Chicago Fire, making it three-straight results for them.

Nashville are now just three points out of contending for a playoff spot in the East. A remarkable shift from anything pre-Leagues Cup.

Don't look now, but CF MTL are unbeaten in their last three, and are just two points out of a play-in game for the postseason. A midweek draw with the Revolution and a win over the Fire is nothing to parade about, but they're heading in the right direction.

In a chaotic 2-2 draw with the New York Red Bulls, Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan stopped a late penalty and they scored what they thought was a game-winner minutes later, but the Red Bulls bagged an equalizer in the eighth minute of stoppage-time.

Atlanta United are still on the fringe of the playoffs in the East, so they'll take a point, but they'll rue a missed chance at three points.

Pulled off a rather impressive 3-1 victory over LAFC at the weekend, and now they're closer than ever to the playoffs. However, they're still five points out of a postseason spot, with Minnesota United occupying ninth place.

Shutout 2-0 in back-to-back matches by heavyweight contenders across both conferences in losses to the Columbus Crew and then the Colorado Rapids, TFC's playoff hopes are fading fast - and John Herdman's seat is slowly heating up.

They've scored nine goals in their last two games, securing wins over NYCFC and DC United - both of whom are contending for spots in the playoffs. They're handling pressure well, and climbing the table at the same time, meaning a playoff spot might just be on the cards.

Blew the Revs to bits Saturday, defeating them 4-0. A much-needed three points, it was their first regular season win since July 13. If they can keep replicating that form to close out the campaign, it should see them into the postseason.

Things aren't going well for Sandro Schwarz's side at the moment. Another draw, their 14th of the season, and it only happened due to their inability to close out the match. A missed 86th minute penalty followed by a goal for each side in stoppage-time saw them draw Atlanta 2-2.

They're falling in the East, and that fourth playoff spot is slowly falling out of their hands.

It's Bongi's world, and we're just living it (really, we're playing this record on repeat - again, we're serious this time).

Bongokuhle Hlongwane has four goals in his last four games, three of which the Loons have won. They took Shield holders FC Cincinnati to the wire midweek and then pulled off their first-ever victory on the road against Sporting Kansas City after nine attempts Saturday evening.

Up to ninth in the West and climbing.

You cannot draw the Earthquakes this late in the season. It's such a poor result after a good stretch for Seattle. They still maintain sixth in the West, though, and are just two points out of a home playoff game.

NYCFC are currently coasting with mixed results and it's at a stage in the season where they can probably afford to and not worry about their postseason chances. They drew 1-1 with D.C. United last Saturday.

However, if they want that top-four spot in the East, they're going to need to start turning out some results.

Their last league win was July 3 and in seven matches since, they've drawn five and lost two.

They took the Crew to the wire, falling 4-3 just short after a stupendous second half. They registered more shots on target and doubled their xG in the loss. Luis Muriel banked a brace, and that's probably the biggest takeaway. They need him to start consistently scoring if they want to make a postseason run.

Evander has officially entered MVP candidacy after his performance at the weekend, leading the Timbers to a 3-3 raw with RSL. The Brazilian scored a brilliant free kick to mark his 33rd goal-contribution of the season. Oh, and they defeated the Galaxy 4-2 midweek. Phil Neville's side are balling right now.

Vanni Sartini, coach of the year candidate?! He has to be on the ballot at least.

The Whitecaps are the least talked about, really good, team in MLS, and they showed it against the San Jose Earthquakes in a dominant 2-0 victory.

They're up to sixth in the West and trail second-place LAFC by just three points, while also having two games in-hand. They are a team to watch in the final stretch.

Simply put, they're playing bad right now. Winless in five.

LAFC are too talented to be losing in the way they are, figure it out and close out the season strong.

The Dynamo are on fire at the moment, and a 1-0 win over Austin FC at the weekend in the Texas Derby will only fuel their fire. They're quiet, sneaky good, and one to watch for that final home playoff spot in the West.

RSL are slowly figuring out how to fit all the puzzle pieces into their attack after a busy summer in the transfer window. They drew the Timbers 3-3 at the weekend, days after a brilliant 3-2 win over FC Dallas. Diego Luna and Chicho Arango are starting to loom themselves again, which could mean danger for the rest of the league.

They narrowly beat MNUFC midweek, and then drew Nashville Saturday evening 2-2. They're not exactly brimming with confidence at the moment, winning two of their last five matches, but manager Pat Noonan will figure it out.

Colorado suffered a shock 4-1 road defeat midweek to SKC, but rebounded with an impressive 2-0 win over Toronto at home on Saturday. They're still cruising in the West, and could be a true dark horse this postseason.

A game to forget midweek, falling to Portland 4-2, but they rebounded phenomenally Saturday evening, besting an impressive Vancouver Whitecaps side 4-2 themselves. Gabriel Pec is emerging as the frontrunner for the Newcomer of the Year award, while Riqui Puig is balling in the middle of the park. With a seven-point lead at the top, the West is theirs to lose.

Wins over TFC and Orlando City have the Crew second in the East, and with two games in-hand, they're feeling good.

The Crew are in cruise control. Their fate, their destiny - it's in their hands. There is a path to them claiming the Supporters' Shield, but they have to win out the remainder of their season and still play in the Campeones Cup final on Wednesday. A tall task awaits Wilfried Nancy.

The Herons are coming off two straight draws and as a result, they've completely opened up the race for the Supporters' Shield. They're still heavy favorites, but Tata Martino will not be thrilled with the way the past week has gone.