It's Monday, and another week of MLS action is in the books, which means it's time for ESPN's Power Rankings.
Who's climbing the table, and who's in free fall? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 37 to come up with this week's order of all 30 teams in the league. Let's dive in.
1. Philadelphia Union
Previous ranking: 1
Philly went to D.C. and handed their capital-city rivals a 6-0 thrashing on Saturday, which does wonders for fans still injured by their 7-0 loss to Vancouver. With two games to go, the Union have a four-point advantage at the top of the Supporters' Shield race.
2. Vancouver Whitecaps
Previous ranking: 2
Vancouver settled for a 2-2 draw with Seattle in a respectable back-and-forth performance that could limit their hopes of stealing the Shield from the Union, who they beat 7-0 earlier in September, but who lead them in the Shield race by six points. The Whitecaps have a game in hand, though, and could still take top spot in the league if others stumble.
3. FC Cincinnati
Previous ranking: 3
FCC drew Orlando 1-1 on Sunday thanks to a 95th-minute equalizer from Orlando right back Alex Freeman. Cincy will regret dropping points in the final moment, but it's still on track for home advantage in the postseason as it sits second in the East with two matches left in the season, both against teams outside playoff spots.
4. Seattle Sounders
Previous ranking: 5
Playing one of the best teams in the league, the Sounders came back from a 1-0 deficit against Vancouver and briefly held the lead after scoring two goals in two minutes, but ultimately settled for a 2-2 draw. Seattle's second was Albert Rusnák's 11th of the season, as the Slovakia midfielder creeps up on Daniel Musovski in the team goal charts. With the draw, the Sounders are officially in their third straight playoffs.
5. LAFC
Previous ranking: 7
Denis Bouanga scored his 23rd goal of the season and Son Heung-Min added a brace in LAFC's fourth straight win of the season, a 3-0 victory over St. Louis. Los Angeles continues to climb up the table as the postseason nears, with the South Korea star -- signed just last month -- already the team's second-highest scorer and his combination with Bouanga is unlocking new levels for the squad. The Black and Gold's 60 goals scored trails only Miami's 65 in MLS.
Watch the Game Highlights from St. Louis CITY SC vs. LAFC, 09/27/2025
6. San Diego FC
Previous ranking: 4
San Diego had 73% of possession, 19 shots and 10 corners, but nothing to show for it. SDFC are still the top team in the West, but a 1-0 loss to ninth-place San Jose hurts their hopes of the lifting the Supporters' Shield, and threatens their quest to finish first in the West as they're now tied with Vancouver on points, who has a game in hand.
7. Inter Miami CF
Previous ranking: 6
Miami's three-game win streak was stymied by Toronto on Saturday, as they settled for a 1-1 draw after a second-half equalizer from Djordje Mihailovic. After scoring a brace in Inter's midweek rout of NYCFC, Lionel Messi's five attempts failed to break through Toronto's defense and Sean Johnson, who saved four of those shots. The Supporters' Shield is still within reach, but these are regrettable points dropped.
8. Orlando City
Previous ranking: 8
Orlando is undefeated in three regular season games after drawing Cincinnati 1-1 thanks to Alex Freeman's 95th-minute goal Sunday evening. Freeman's header was clutch to seal the point, but credit is due to Tyrese Spicer's crafty work setting up the assist, as well as goalkeeper Pedro Gallese's nine saves. Orlando entered the match with a playoff spot newly secure (its sixth straight postseason) thanks to the Red Bulls' defeat in the Hudson River Derby. Now, with a game in hand, the Lions have three games to make a case for homefield advantage in the first round.
9. Nashville SC
Previous ranking: 9
Despite beating Philadelphia in the U.S. Open Cup this month, Nashville had three straight regular-season defeats before this weekend's 3-1 win over Houston. With that, the Music City side is in the playoffs. Next up? A chance for their first trophy on Wednesday in the Open Cup final against Austin.
10. New York City FC
Previous ranking: 10
The Pigeons already confirmed their playoff spot prior to beating their New York rivals 3-2, but their chances of entering the postseason with homefield advantage increased after clinching all three points against the Red Bulls. NYCFC are now third in the East, but have tough tests in their final two matchdays: first Philadelphia, then Seattle.
11. Minnesota United
Previous ranking: 11
Canada goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair reminded viewers why he's one of the best keepers in MLS in a seven-save performance against Colorado. Those saves were key to a 1-1 draw that saw the Loons finish the weekend third in the West.
12. Chicago Fire
Previous ranking: 14
Still with a match in hand, Chicago increased its postseason chances this weekend with a 2-0 win against Columbus, finishing the weekend in the final playoff spot with three games to play. Andrew Gutman started things off for the Fire, and Hugo Cuypers collected his team-high 17th goal to seal it. Next up? Inter Miami.
13. Charlotte FC
Previous ranking: 12
Things were looking bright in the 10th minute as Wilfried Zaha scored his eighth goal of the season to give the home side a 1-0 advantage, but after going down to 10 men in the 20th minute, the Crown conceded an uncharacteristic four goals in a 4-1 loss to the Eastern Conference's 13th-place side, Montréal. Charlotte is still fifth in the East, but that could hurt its hopes for home advantage in the playoffs.
14. Columbus Crew
Previous ranking: 13
The Crew lost 2-0 to Chicago, but they clinched their playoff spot anyway thanks to the Red Bulls' loss to NYCFC. That'll do. With two games to play, Columbus will turn its attention to clinching homefield advantage in the first round of the postseason.
15. FC Dallas
Previous ranking: 15
After a 2-2 draw with Portland, Los Toros are tied on points with ninth-place San Jose but sitting just below the Quakes and in turn just outside the playoff places on total wins. Dallas has a match in hand, though, and three games to make its case for a postseason berth, starting with back-to-back tests with the last-place Galaxy.
16. Austin FC
Previous ranking: 16
Austin will compete for its first ever trophy on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup final, but fell to a 3-1 weekend loss to RSL, fumbling the chance to confirm a playoff spot. Brad Stuver 's five saves helped keep the scoreline reasonable in a match in which Los Verde were outshot eight to two on target.
Watch the Game Highlights from San Diego FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 09/27/2025
17. San Jose Earthquakes
Previous ranking: 19
It took just 14 minutes for Josef Martínez to score his 13th goal of the season in a 1-0 win over San Diego, which ties the former Atlanta star with Chicho Arango atop the Quakes goal-scoring charts. Beating the top team in the West does wonders for their playoff momentum, as they finished the weekend in the final playoff position, while tied on points with 10th-place Dallas in a very tight playoff push between teams eighth and twelfth.
18. Portland Timbers
Previous ranking: 18
The Timbers fired off 24 shots against Dallas but were limited, in part, by Jacob Jackson's seven saves -- and the fact that they only got eight of those shots on target. Still, Portland managed a 2-2 draw, which wasn't quite enough to clinch a playoff berth this weekend. Sitting seventh in the West, PTFC are on track to qualify, but have two tough tests in their final weekends against Seattle and San Diego.
19. New York Red Bulls
Previous ranking: 17
The Red Bulls lost 3-2 to their New York rival in a back-and-forth defeat that puts them on the brink of playoff elimination. Mathematically, the postseason remains possible, but they'll need Chicago to massively fumble their final three games. That's a big blow to the record holders for postseason berths: prior to this year, New York appeared in 15 straight postseasons, making 25 playoff appearances in 29 seasons.
20. Houston Dynamo
Previous ranking: 20
They're not eliminated from the playoffs just yet, as they trail the ninth-place Quakes by just two points while sitting a few spots below them in 12th, but the Dynamo's odds took a tumble after losing 3-1 to Nashville. Now they face decisive games against conference-leading San Diego and 14th-place Kansas City.
21. Colorado Rapids
Previous ranking: 21
Dayne St. Clair can be difficult to get past, and his seven saves limited the Rapids in a 1-1 draw vs. Minnesota. That's still a good result against a quality opponent. Colorado is in the playoff spots for now, but the competition is fierce for those final places, and it has tough tests to close out their season in RSL and LAFC.
22. Real Salt Lake
Previous ranking: 22
They need all the points they can get to break into the playoffs, making a 3-1 win against Austin massive. RSL finished the weekend in 11th, two spots below the playoff line but trailing the Quakes by just a point. With a game in hand, they could secure a spot if they manage good results against Colorado, Seattle and then St. Louis.
Toronto FC vs. Inter Miami CF - Game Highlights
23. Toronto FC
Previous ranking: 23
Sean Johnson's five saves were key to keeping Lionel Messi at bay, as four of those saves halted the Atomic Flea in a 1-1 draw with Miami. Toronto held its own offensively, providing seven shots to Miami's nine, and claiming a point at home thanks to Djordje Mihailovic's first goal for the club. Incredibly, that's Toronto's seventh straight draw, with six of those by a 1-1 scoreline.
24. LA Galaxy
Previous ranking: 25
The Galaxy won't make the playoffs and they're still the last-placed team in MLS, but beating Sporting KC 4-1 with a hat trick from Joseph Paintsil is a victory of the soul for the reigning champions.
Watch the Game Highlights from LA Galaxy vs. Sporting Kansas City, 09/27/2025
25. New England Revolution
Previous ranking: 26
The Revs are already out of the playoffs, and they beat another team that's out of the playoffs in Atlanta, 2-0. Matt Turner made four saves to clinch his second clean sheet from eight appearances this season. Fans will take what they can get while they await a new season.
26. St. Louis City SC
Previous ranking: 24
Failing to properly defend some of the best goal scorers in the league is a bad way to approach a game with LAFC, as St. Louis learned the hard way in a 3-0 defeat featuring goals from Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min. Roman Bürki made four saves to help stymie the flow of L.A.'s 21 shots (seven on target), but there was no stopping the visitors at Energizer Park.
27. CF Montréal
Previous ranking: 27
With playoffs already off the table, Montréal's playing for fun now. It picked up a nice 4-1 win against a strong Charlotte squad after the Crown were reduced to ten players in the first half.
28. Atlanta United
Previous ranking: 28
There's no saving Atlanta from itself this season. With three games to go and the playoffs already out of the picture, the Five Stripes suffered a 2-0 defeat to also-eliminated New England.
29. Sporting Kansas City
Previous ranking: 30
In a battle of the Western Conferences's bottom teams, SKC fell flat on their face as they conceded four goals (starting in the fourth minute) in a 4-1 loss against the Galaxy. That puts Kansas City on track for at least one award this season: most goals conceded (67).
30. D.C. United
Previous ranking: 29
Even at the end of a dismal season, with the postseason out of grasp, there's something about losing 6-0 at home to the Union that has to hurt for D.C. fans (if there's any left these days). An offseason revival can't come soon enough.