Confusion. That is what we have now. Some real, down-to-earth confusion. What else explains LAFC losing to Austin and at home no less? Seattle losing to St. Louis? Philadelphia losing to Nashville at home?
And yet here we are, a mere handful of weeks into the season, and no one is safe. Well, except Miami seems pretty safe, and Columbus is right behind them. And on the other end of the stick, you have New England, Sporting, and Toronto. But everything in between? Chaos.
Top Shelf
1. Inter Miami (Previously 1)
Another week, another win. This time, 1-0 at Atlanta. Such a machine.
2. Columbus Crew (2)
While not as impressive as Miami, they are the one team keeping themselves close. A 1-1 road draw to San Diego does the trick this week.
Quality
3. Minnesota United (4)
They move up in part because of Cincinnati’s fall, but also because they went on the road and got a 3-3 draw in Kansas City. Not the most difficult of opponents, but a road tie is a good result.
4. Charlotte FC (7)
A nice response to losing to Miami the previous week, Charlotte got a 2-0 home win over FC Cincinnati.
5. FC Cincinnati (3)
Not the worst of defeats, but a 2-0 loss on the road to Charlotte saw them fall a bit.
6. Colorado Rapids (12)
A 2-1 road win against what had seemed a resurgent San Jose team is impressive.
7. Vancouver Whitecaps (11)
They definitely dominated FC Dallas on the road, earning a 1-0 victory that was not as close as the scoreline would imply. Buzz seems impressed with Vancouver, and they have done well so far this year. We temper our excitement about them because of the opponents they have faced.
8. Seattle Sounders (5)
It has been an up-and-down start to the year for Seattle. Maybe this big of a drop for a 1-0 road loss feels a bit much, but it was St. Louis that beat them.
9. New York City FC (8)
Maybe a little unfair to drop them after a 2-1 win, but it was against a poor Revs side at home.
10. New York Red Bulls (9)
Orlando is not the strong side they seemed to be coming out of last season, although they are not awful. That being said, when the Red Bulls cannot get a home win over them, but have to settle for a 2-2 tie, it is not so exciting.
11. Los Angeles FC (6)
Austin has not been good this year, to a 1-0 home loss reflects poorly on Cherundolo’s lads. It is possible that Austin is improving, and as volatile as things are, LAFC could move up quickly. But not today.
12. Philadelphia Union (10)
After a run of good results, a 3-1 loss to Nashville at home cools the Union off a bit.
13. Orlando City (17)
The Lions have fought their way through 2025 as best as they can, and this week they found a way to a 2-2 road tie against the Red Bulls.
Average
14. San Diego FC (13)
After a surprising road win against the Galaxy, San Diego’s results have been mixed, this week’s being a 1-1 home tie against the Crew.
15. Atlanta United (15)
They started the year with a 3-2 win over Montreal, which we didn’t think too much of, and their results since have also been uninspiring. Tough to hold a 2-1 home loss to Miami against them too much.
16. Real Salt Lake (21)
For a team that lost to San Diego the previous matchday at home, RSL found a way to get a 2-1 win at Houston. Maybe the Dynamo just aren’t that good this year.
17. St. Louis City SC (19)
A 1-0 home win over a team like Seattle is a quality win. Can they replicate that success on multiple weeks?
18. Chicago Fire (20)
For a team that started hot against the Crew, only to fade, in the first game, the Fire have earned two road wins in as many weeks, albeit against questionable opponents. In Toronto, it was 2-1. Maybe they deserve to be higher?
19. FC Dallas (14)
That opening-day road victory seems so long ago. Now, FC Dallas seems like a team that the league has figured out, and that is not a good thing this early in the season. Vancouver came in and controlled the game, needing only one dangerous header in the box to secure a 1-0 victory.
20. LA Galaxy (16)
For a team we thought was going to be quality, every match seems to be showing the opposite. Granted it was on the road, but Portland is poor and a 1-1 draw does not engender confidence.
21. San Jose Earthquakes (18)
Bruce Arena had them starting well, but then they played two quality teams and fell short. First, it was against Minnesota and then this past match they lost at home to Colorado, 2-1.
Questionable
22. Austin FC (24)
Maybe it is tough keeping them in this grouping after a 1-0 road win over LAFC, but it was just one match.
23. Nashville SC (25)
Finally a good result for the Tennessee group as they dominated Philadelphia, 3-1, on the road.
24. CF Montreal (27)
It has been a tough start to 2025 for Montreal, but a 0-0 road tie is not a bad thing, even if it is against D.C.
25. Houston Dynamo (22)
Every week seems to be another failure for the Dynamo as they lost 2-1 to RSL at home.
26. Portland Timbers (26)
The Timbers seem to be adrift, with a 1-1 home tie to the Galaxy as their latest failure.
27. D.C. United (23)
We had real questions about United coming into this season, and the results have borne that out. Not being able to score against Portland is problematic, but at least it was a 0-0 tie and not a home loss.
Poor
28. New England Revolution (28)
This is not how many expected the season would go for the Revs, but here we are. A 2-1 road loss to NYC is not the worst of results, but it doesn’t help them move either.
29. Sporting Kansas City (30)
It is a poor set of facts that see a 3-3 home tie to Minnesota as a good result, but it is better than what happened to Toronto.
30. Toronto FC (29)
When you battle Sporting for the worst spot in the rankings, and you lose 2-1 at home to Chicago, you don’t win that matchup.