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RBNY Playoff Reset: Week 31

The Red Bulls got some lucky breaks in Week 31, with 32 being a FIFA break week, time for the Red Bulls to create some separation.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

A 2-1 victory for the New York Red Bulls over Columbus Crew SC allowed the team to stay atop the Eastern Conference, and thanks to a draw between the LA Galaxy & Seattle Sounders, the Red Bulls are back on top of the Shield standings.

Below are the current standings with each team's maximum point and projected points. For a reminder, here's how they are calculated:

  • Maximum Points = Current Points + (Remaining Games x 3)
  • Projected Points = Current Points + (Current Home Points Per Game [PPG] x Home Games Left) + (Current Away PPG x Away Games Left)

You can see the full set of data on our Google Sheets file. Teams with a (x) next to their name have qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference Standings

# Club PTS Max Pts Proj Pts
1 (x) New York Red Bulls 51 63 57
2 (x) D.C. United 48 54 51
3 New England Revolution 47 53 49
4 Columbus Crew SC 47 53 49
5 Toronto FC 46 55 51
6 Montreal Impact 42 54 46
7 Orlando City SC 41 47 43
8 New York City FC 37 43 39
9 Philadelphia Union 34 40 36
10 Chicago Fire 30 36 31

Supporter's Shield Standings

# Club PTS Max Pts Proj Pts
1 (x) New York Red Bulls 51 63 57
2 (x) LA Galaxy 51 57 54
3 (x) FC Dallas 50 62 56
4 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 49 58 53
5 (x) D.C. United 48 54 51
6 Sporting Kansas City 48 57 53
7 Seattle Sounders FC 47 53 49
8 New England Revolution 47 53 49
9 Columbus Crew SC 47 53 49
10 Toronto FC 46 55 51
11 San Jose Earthquakes 44 50 46
12 Portland Timbers 44 53 47
13 Montreal Impact 42 54 46
14 Houston Dynamo 41 47 43
15 Real Salt Lake 41 50 45
16 Orlando City SC 41 47 43
17 New York City FC 37 43 39
18 Philadelphia Union 34 40 36
19 Colorado Rapids 34 43 37
20 Chicago Fire 30 36 31

Magic Numbers

1st in Eastern Conference: 4

The Red Bulls need 4 points from their last 4 games to clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The highest any other team can go in terms of points is 54 by D.C. United. 4 points in the next 4 games will put the Red Bulls at 55 points, out of reach of any other Eastern Conference team.

Supporter's Shield: 12

In order to guarantee the Supporter's Shield, the Red Bulls need to win out the rest of the season. FC Dallas can reach 62 points, one less than if New York wins out. Since both teams are level on games played with the same number of wins, the Red Bulls would be able to clinch at 62, as long as they keep their goal differential (+15) ahead of Dallas' (+9).

Games to Watch

10/7 - Red Bulls vs Montreal - A Red Bulls win keeps the team at the top of the East but also opens the door for NYC FC to stay in the playoff hunt. A loss or draw by New York would eliminate NYC FC.

10/7 - Vancouver vs Dallas - A draw is the best possible outcome. A win for each team would allow them to keep pace (with a RBNY win) or leapfrog ahead of New York in the Shield Standings.

10/10 - Colorado vs Montreal - If Montreal happens to win against New York tonight, a loss to Colorado will knock them back to a point where they couldn't surpass, only draw even with New York on points.