The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 26The Championship's busiest week yet
With a ton of midweek games, there were a lot of double-game weeks, and for the first time this season no one had a bye. Only one big shock result though, and it shows in the Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Notes |
| 1 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 9 | +8 | 16-9-3 | 5.916 | The Switchbacks blew a ton of chances in the overpowering 1-0 win over Phoenix. Still, they have the league’s longest win streak at 3 and are jockeying with San Diego for second in the West. |
| 2 | Indy Eleven | 20 | +18 | 8-14-5 | 5.914 | The Eleven followed up last week’s win over San Antonio with a 2-1 win over Louisville, making the most of a rare Kyle Morton gaffe and a stupid PK, then reverted to form in Detroit, drawing 0-0. |
| 3 | The Miami FC | 1 | -2 | 12-8-8 | 5.814 | Miami took advantage of the Legion flubbing a PK and being temporarily down a center back to take the lead but couldn’t maintain it and the 3-game win streak ends in a 1-1 draw. |
| 4 | Birmingham Legion | 6 | +2 | 15-7-6 | 5.334 | The Legion will be regretting Juan Agudelo’s horrendous PK attempt in a game they should have won. The 1-1 draw drops them out of the home playoff spots, but only on tiebreakers with Pittsburgh. |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 13 | +8 | 16-5-6 | 5.296 | The Rowdies took Las Vegas to the woodshed in a massive 6-1 win, with 4 more shots on goal. Every other East team above the playoff line dropped points this week and the Rowdies are making an argument for top spot. |
| 6 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 2 | -4 | 8-12-6 | 4.729 | RGV got close to tying the game up in Phoenix but couldn’t quite get there in a tight 1-2 loss. They aren’t out of the playoff chase though, which is ridiculously bunched up in the West. |
| 7 | Hartford Athletic | 10 | +3 | 7-15-6 | 4.444 | In a weird week, the Athletic scored 4 goals in the 90th minute or later to draw 3-3 in New York and win 3-1 in LA in a big transcontinental road trip. Tab Ramos is now at the helm, but Hartford is just one loss from elimination. |
| 8 | El Paso Locomotive | 12 | +4 | 11-11-7 | 4.332 | El Paso’s 2-1 win in New Mexico thanks to a Luis Solignac brace is really down to New Mexico wasting a boatload of chances. They should consider themselves extremely lucky in this one. |
| 9 | Detroit City | 3 | -6 | 11-6-10 | 3.655 | Detroit were the dominant team in the 1-1 draw with Indy, but that’s not saying much in a game that had just 3 shots on target. They remain a point behind Miami but with a game in hand. |
| 10 | Oakland Roots | 8 | -2 | 7-9-12 | 3.415 | Losing 0-2 to San Antonio is hardly a surprise, but generating just 2 shots on target with 64% possession is pretty bad. Still in the playoff hunt, but this team needs to find its comfort zone very fast. |
| 11 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 22 | +11 | 15-7-6 | 3.415 | The Hounds were a bit lucky to draw 0-0 with Charleston in midweek and barely held on for the 2-1 win in Loudoun. A mediocre 8 points from their last 4 games, and they were all against the bottom teams in the East. It gets much harder from here. |
| 12 | San Antonio | 15 | +3 | 19-5-3 | 3.012 | San Antonio cruised to a 2-0 win over the Roots as it recovered from 2 poor results, drawing with RGV and losing to Indy. A win over San Diego this week gives them potentially an 11-point lead with a game in hand, |
| 13 | Loudoun United | 21 | +8 | 7-17-3 | 2.937 | Loudoun went to Memphis Wednesday and got the shock 1-0 win but lost 1-2 to Pittsburgh at the weekend but were never out of either game. They cling to playoff chances but are just one draw or loss from elimination. |
| 14 | Charleston Battery | 19 | +5 | 5-17-6 | 2.551 | The Battery played spoiler in Pittsburgh on Wednesday and may have had the best scoring chance in the 0-0 draw, then were easily the better team at home beating New York 3-0 in a match of eliminated teams. |
| 15 | New Mexico United | 18 | +3 | 11-8-9 | 2.509 | New Mexico’s 1-2 loss to the Locomotive came down to failing to convert on many chances, including two goals call back for offsides in the first 15 minutes. as well as a bunch of near misses. They miss a chance to leapfrog Sacramento into the home playoff spots. |
| 16 | Louisville City | 5 | -11 | 18-5-4 | 2.446 | Lou City took the early lead in Indy but two defensive howlers led to the 1-2 loss. The weekend 3-1 win over an understrength Sacramento was not too impressive. The Rowdies are closing in on the Eastern lead. |
| 17 | Orange County | 16 | -1 | 6-11-10 | 2.248 | For once Milan Iloski didn’t score. Instead he assisted his brother Brian for OC’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Memphis. They were the better side on the day but couldn’t hang on, giving up a late goal. Still mired in the West’s cellar. |
| 18 | Sacramento Republic | 7 | -11 | 12-8-7 | 2.171 | SacRep rested 10 starters from last week ahead of Wednesday’s US Open Cup final, so the 1-3 loss in Louisville surprised no one. Even so, the hosts did not have it all go their own way. |
| 19 | LA Galaxy II | 11 | -8 | 10-12-6 | 2.077 | Los Dos went down a man but were not entirely dominated in the 3-1 loss to Hartford, giving up 2 late goals. The loss leaves them just a point below the playoff line. |
| 20 | Monterey Bay Union | 23 | +3 | 10-14-2 | 2.060 | Monterey Bay were already 2-1 up when San Diego’s Kyle Adams was shown red for a blatant DOGSO. The extra goal sealed the deal and the Union are still in with a shot at the playoffs, 5 points out with 2 games in hand. |
| 21 | Phoenix Rising | 26 | +5 | 9-13-5 | 1.984 | The Rising edged the Toros 2-1 for their first win under Juan Guerra, then got completely run over by the Switchbacks in a 0-1 loss that was very flattering to the visitors. 4 points from the last 5 games and the playoffs are getting away from them. |
| 22 | San Diego Loyal | 14 | -8 | 16-8-4 | 1.878 | For the second straight game, the Loyal lost 1-3, this time to Monterey, 3 losses in the last 4 games and their hold on 2nd in the West is looking very shaky. A huge game in San Antonio coming up this weekend. |
| 23 | Atlanta United 2 | 27 | +4 | 5-20-4 | 1.394 | Twonited came out on top 2-1 over Tulsa and missed a pint blank chance to make the win more solid. Evenly played, but they were the better team on the day and still cannot be discounted despite being long since eliminated. |
| 24 | FC Tulsa | 17 | -7 | 10-14-4 | 0.629 | Tulsa did their dim playoff chances no favors by losing 1-2 in Atlanta. The game was fairly even, but 2 losses in the last 3 against teams below them in the standings is not good. |
| 25 | Memphis 901 | 4 | -21 | 16-7-4 | 0.586 | Area Code FC are in a slump. After losing to the Legion last week, they lost again to Loudoun 0-1 thanks to poor finishing and then needed a late goal to draw Orange County 1-1. They drop to 3rd in the East, just a point ahead of Birmingham and Pittsburgh. |
| 26 | Las Vegas Lights | 24 | -2 | 10-11-7 | -0.307 | Las Vegas have given up 11 goals in the past 2 games. The 1-6 loss to Tampa didn’t put theme below the playoff line, but only because LA also lost. They need to wake up. |
| 27 | New York Red Bulls II | 25 | -2 | 3-20-5 | -0.333 | The Baby Bulls scored in just 18 seconds and again less than 2 minutes later to take a big lead over Hartford, but gave up 2 second half stoppage time goals in a wild 3-3 draw then were totally throttled by the Battery 0-3 in a meaningless contest. |
