The Mane Land 2016 MLS Power Rankings: Week 22

This week in MLS action was draw heavy, with five of the 10 matches played ending in the two teams splitting the points. Welcome to MLS, where sharing is caring!

1. FC Dallas (Last Week: 1)

Dallas drew with SKC after beating LA in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday. As cool as it is to see the best team in the league inching towards hardware, I was disappointed by the result because now we get to watch a U.S. Open Cup final that has fewer people in attendance than several middle school football games I've attended.

2. LA Galaxy (Last Week: 2)

LA's tie with Colorado was almost exactly what you'd expect between those two teams. They have the two stingiest defenses, and neither team is a losing mood at the moment.

3. New York City FC (Last Week: 3)

So Frank Lampard has scored nine goals in 10 games? Have any of them been memorable? I feel like Lampard is leading the league in trash goals that trickle in after a collision in the box.

4. Colorado Rapids (Last Week: 4)

I LOVE watching Tim Howard in MLS. When he’s not making cool-looking saves, he’s hopping up off of the ground to yell at his teammates like an angry dad who just watched his kids flush money down the toilet. It’s the most entertaining thing about Colorado games.

5. Toronto FC (Last Week: 5)

Jozy Altidore scored a pretty swell goal to tie the game in Houston. Jozy has scored three times in four appearances for the Reds, and his team is tied with San Jose for the third-longest current unbeaten streak in the league.

6. New York Red Bulls (Last Week: 6)

New York has the second-longest unbeaten run in the league at seven, behind LA's nine. In other, semi-related news, the Red Bulls' USL affiliate hosts Louisville City this Friday night in a game pitting the two best teams in the USL. I have never been more pumped for a third-division soccer game in my life.

7. Sporting Kansas City (Last Week: 10)

SKC drew on the road with Dallas, and Dom Dwyer scored both goals. I’m not sure how I feel about Dwyer. He can be a prolific scorer, sure, but I’m not convinced he’s a top-tier MLS striker. He has the reputation of a star in the league, but there are several guys at his position who I’d take over him in the league.

8. Montreal Impact (Last Week: 7)

The stars of Montreal were held in check on the road against the Red Bulls. When those two teams meet in the playoffs, my suspicion is that I will be able to re-use that last sentence.

9. Real Salt Lake (Last Week: 8)

RSL has won two of its last four with the other two games in that streak being losses, including this week's loss to Seattle. It's now clear to me that RSL will be good enough to go into the playoffs relatively easily, but I'm inching them closer and closer to my "pretenders" list that is headlined by San Jose and D.C.

10. San Jose Earthquakes (Last Week: 11)

That third-best unbeaten run that Toronto and San Jose are on? It's five games. The difference between the two, however, is that T-Dot's streak contains four wins in five, while San Jose's contains just two.

11. Portland Timbers (Last Week: 9)

Portland is one of those teams that can beat any team in the league soundly, but also lose to any other team on any given week. If I were an MLS gambler (do those people exist?), I'd be staying away from games that involve the Timbers. You never know what the outcome will be.

12. Philadelphia Union (Last Week: 13)

Alejandro Bedoya played for the Union this week, which is the most exciting move that Philly has made since deciding to reacquire Sébastien Le Toux back in 2013. Coincidentally, Philly has parted ways with the former MVP candidate from France.

13. Seattle Sounders (Last Week: 14)

The suddenly surging Sounders have won two straight behind the new guy Nicolás Lodeiro and a rejuvenated Jordan Morris. Whether Seattle makes the playoffs remains to be seen, but watching them try is going to be fun.

14. Vancouver Whitecaps (Last Week: 12)

Vancouver lost to San Jose this week in a game that could only have meant less to the MLS Championship picture if it had been a USL game.

15. D.C. United (Last Week: 15)

D.C. beat Portland at home, but this clearly has more to do with Portland's inconsistency than anything D.C. has going for it.

16. Orlando City (Last Week: 16)

Cyle Larin is now on pace to score nearly 18 goals this season, which would be the best sophomore slump any MLS Rookie of the Year has ever had.

17. Houston Dynamo (Last Week: 18)

#DaMarcusBeasley4PlayerCoach

18. New England Revolution (Last Week: 17)

New England is really bad, yet is only a point out of the playoffs. Unless something drastic changes, I think Jay Heaps will be out of a job at least by the end of next season. Feels like this team has gone stale under his leadership.

19. Chicago Fire (Last Week: 19)

Chicago tied a game they should have lost at home to Orlando City. By Chicago standards, I think that deserves to be considered a win.

20. Columbus Crew (Last Week: 20)

Ethan Finlay scored this week for C-Bus. Remember when he played in that World Cup Qualifier and it looked like he might become a solid role player for the national team? God, what I wouldn’t give for that level of naivete again.