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MLS Power Rankings, Week 34: Decision Day

It all came down to one final day of soccer, but the last week of the MLS Power Rankings sees who made the playoff cut and whose offseason has already begun.

Week 34 started off with a midweek match between Sporting Kansas City and the Colorado Rapids, but it was Sunday where all the fireworks popped and the playoff brackets became set in stone. Decision Day saw all of the Eastern Conference matches kick off at the same time and, subsequently, all of the Western Conference matches do the same thing. The only exception to that was the match between the New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire, which was moved to 7pm to play alongside the Dallas-San Jose contest for Supporters Shield implications. The entire afternoon was filled with drama, with MLS fans checking out the game in their area and pulling up others on their laptops while checking other scores on their phones. And the picture wasn't clear until the final whistles of the late contests.

In the end, Kansas City, Portland, Seattle and New England all punched their tickets to the postseason, while San Jose and Orlando were left to ponder what could have been. The New York Red Bulls beat Chicago to secure the Supporters Shield on goal differential ahead of FC Dallas. Still, the season was easily one of the most competitive in the history of the league, with several teams occupying the top spot in the Supporters Shield standings and the playoffs not decided until the final seconds of the season.

In the final Power Rankings, your Shield winners are in the top spot, while Chicago has officially been given the deed to the basement. With the incredible 5-0 loss at Columbus, our beloved Black & Red drop to 12th position. All of the playoff teams are in the top 12 spots this week.

So, now it's your turn. Is Red Bull the team to beat? Who do you not want to see in the playoffs right now? Is United slotted just right or are you more bullish on their chances? You know the drill...hit the comments and state your case!

Rank


Team


LW


Points


GP


Comment


1

New York Red Bulls

2

60

34

Held off Chicago to win the Supporters Shield for the 2nd time in 3 season.

2

FC Dallas

1

60

34

Did their job against San Jose, but came up a few goals short in the Shield race.

3

Columbus Crew SC

3

53

34

Absolute bo-beasting of United at home to secure the 2nd seed and bye.

4

Vancouver Whitecaps

11

53

34

Thumped Houston at home to secure the bye in the West.

5

Portland Timbers

8

53

34

They are entering the playoffs on fire after stomping Colorado.

6

Montreal Impact

7

51

34

Held off Toronto to gain the 3 seed and host…Toronto again.

7

Seattle Sounders

10

51

34

Stomped RSL and will host a wildcard game.

8

LA Galaxy

4

51

34

They’re reeling as they enter the playoffs and now will be on the road for the knockout round.

9

New England Revolution

9

50

34

Swept NYC out of their own park to secure a date in DC in the knockout round.

10

Toronto FC

13

49

34

Lost to Montreal, which gives them the 6th seed in the East.

11

Sporting Kansas City

12

51

34

Lost to Colorado midweek, but beat LA to grab the last West playoff spot.

12

D.C. United

5

51

34

Implosion. They do that on Wednesday and the season will surely be done.

13

San Jose Earthquakes

6

47

34

Came up just short of the playoffs in losing to Dallas.

14

Orlando City

14

44

34

Lost to Philly and their first season ends with them on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

15

Real Salt Lake

15

41

34

They end the season getting trounced by Seattle.

16

Houston Dynamo

16

42

34

Rolled over and let Vancouver take them to the cleaners.

17

Colorado Rapids

18

37

34

Beat SKC midweek but then got torched by a hot Portland team.

18

Philadelphia Union

19

37

34

Win their last game of the season against Orlando, spoiling their playoff dreams.

19

New York City FC

17

37

34

It was a first season to forget in the Bronx for the Citizens.

20

Chicago Fire

20

30

34

Undisputed worst team in MLS this season.