It's Monday, another weekend of action is in the books, and it's time for the latest edition of ESPN's MLS Power Rankings.
1. Nashville SC
Previous ranking: 1
Nashville clocked four shots on target in a 1-1 draw with San Jose, but neither team reached higher than a 0.73 xG (and it wasn't Nashville). The draw might be a disappointment for fans ready for the team to clinch the Shield, but Nashville can secure it with a win in Montreal, and with four games to go, it will need just eight points to set a single-season points record to boot.
2. Inter Miami CF
Previous ranking: 3
Don't look now, but the star-studded Herons have found their feet with a three-game win streak after the international break. In a 3-1 win against Atlanta, Messi scored twice in the space of four minutes, bringing him to seven goals in their past six games.
3. St. Louis City SC
Previous ranking: 2
St. Louis picked up its first loss since May 3 in a 3-2 defeat to the Loons. With its 19-game unbeaten streak snapped, STL has fallen short of the undefeated record but could still grab first place in the West with a strong four-game finish.
4. Philadelphia Union
Previous ranking: 4
Philly scored first and last in a 2-2 draw with Charlotte, which maintained a 15-game undefeated streak started after the World Cup. That said, the Union snapped their eight-game run of wins that was briefly kept alive with a midweek win against Chicago.
5. Vancouver Whitecaps
Previous ranking: 6
The Whitecaps still have a slim four-point lead at the top of the Western Conference after beating Austin FC 2-1. It wasn't the toughest competition or the best display, but Vancouver is still on track to greet the playoffs with a comfortable position in the West.
6. Chicago Fire
Previous ranking: 5
Still one of the stronger teams in the East, the Fire faced off against two of their fellow East Coast contenders (Philly and New England) and came up short in both games. They'll have notes for the postseason after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to the Revs.
7. Charlotte FC
Previous ranking: 7
After conceding first from the penalty spot, Charlotte scored twice to claim a 2-1 lead before conceding a final goal to Bruno Damiani. It salvaged a point with a 2-2 draw, but the team has just one win (and two defeats) in its past four games as it vies for a better chance at home-field advantage in the postseason.
8. LAFC
Previous ranking: 8
LAFC are undefeated in two games after limping their way to a 1-1 draw against NYCFC. Leo Walta's first-half goal from a free kick was a thing of beauty (his first for the club in just his third match), but they didn't capitalize enough in the final third to come away with more than a draw.
9. Orlando City
Previous ranking: 10
After a slight stumble with defeats against Philly and the Revs, Orlando is undefeated in three games after beating D.C. United 4-1. In the 22nd minute, Antoine Griezmann finished off a crafty set of passes with a chipped assist to Martin Ojeda, who rewarded the team effort with a backheel bicycle kick worthy of an award.
10. Seattle Sounders
Previous ranking: 9
The Sounders were soaring into the postseason on a four-game win streak before stumbling against FC Dallas, then needing a second-half goal from 20-year-old Sebastian Gomez to level the score 1-1 against last-in-the-East CF Montreal. With a few interesting tests ahead, they'll need to recover quickly if they are to avoid starting the playoffs in the wild-card round.
11. Houston Dynamo
Previous ranking: 11
After Mateusz Bogusz scored a 94th-minute penalty, Houston was on its way to its first win in six games until Petar Musa scored a response from the spot in the 11th minute of stoppage time. With that, the Dynamo have four draws in their past five games and are comfortably in the playoff places though still short of home-field advantage.
12. New England Revolution
Previous ranking: 12
Matt Turner's six saves paid dividends in a slim victory over Chicago, as Carles Gil set up Matt Polster for his second goal of the season to make the difference in a 1-0 win over Chicago.
13. FC Dallas
Previous ranking: 14
Petar Musa's penalty in the 11th minute of stoppage time salvaged a 2-2 draw against Houston, securing Dallas' fourth point in two games after it beat Seattle 1-0 in midweek.
14. FC Cincinnati
Previous ranking: 13
Cincinnati has three defeats in four games and is winless in its past two after losing this weekend's Hell is Real Derby. The club is in the final wild-card position in the East and hanging on to its playoff chances by the skin of its teeth, with three heavy hitters -- Miami, Philly and Nashville -- waiting in the last four games.
15. San Jose Earthquakes
Previous ranking: 17
The Western Conference is tightly packed with the playoffs looming, but San Jose still hasn't lost since August and extended that run with a 1-1 draw against first-place Nashville. For those following, that's three 1-1 draws in three games for the Quakes, and four draws in the past five outings.
16. New York City FC
Previous ranking: 16
Matt Freese made two strong saves but also has a bit of egg on his face after standing stationary on Leo Walta's first-half goal from a free kick. Andres Perea took the team on his shoulders with a second-half goal to seal the point.
17. Red Bull New York
Previous ranking: 15
The Red Bulls generated enough to get a result in a 2-0 defeat to Toronto but couldn't break through despite outpacing them in the final third. With three defeats in four games, that result could haunt them as they finished the weekend in the wild-card spot, but dead even with Toronto (one spot short of the playoffs) on points.
18. LA Galaxy
Previous ranking: 18
The Galaxy's two-game faceoff against their fellow SoCal sides started with a draw against a 2-2 draw against a limited San Diego. They've got a slim grasp on their playoff spot with LAFC up next.
19. Minnesota United
Previous ranking: 20
Minnesota's first win since Aug. 22 came against a team that hadn't lost since May. The Loons came back from an early two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 win capped off by an 88th-minute goal from Marcus Caldeira, who capitalized on a counterattack to collect his seventh goal in 12 games.
20. Colorado Rapids
Previous ranking: 19
Nicolas Hansen's four saves were needed in a 0-0 game against Portland that saw the Rapids slightly outmatched in big chances as they hung on to their wild-card spot for dear life with four draws in five games.
21. Columbus Crew
Previous ranking: 22
Patrick Schulte's seven saves did a lot of work in a 2-0 win against their Ohio rivals, as FC Cincinnati crumbled without registering a single save in a match that saw the Crew outshot 23-3 and 7-2 on target.
22. Toronto FC
Previous ranking: 24
Toronto's 2-0 win over RBNY has it undefeated in three games as it stares down the home stretch with a playoff spot in reach. The club finished the weekend in 10th place, one spot short of the wild card places, but even on points with the two teams above. Upcoming games with Columbus, D.C. and Atlanta mean Toronto still has some control over its postseason destiny.
23. Real Salt Lake
Previous ranking: 21
RSL is in a race against themselves to break into the playoff positions (they finished the weekend one spot short in the West). After beating SKC 3-1, they've got just one loss in their past four games and secured two wins -- their first victories since the World Cup. Morgan Guilavogui's brace of goals (his first since August) made the difference.
24. San Diego FC
Previous ranking: 23
San Diego's 2-2 draw with the Galaxy is its fourth draw in five games. They've come against respectable playoff teams, but San Diego is going to need more if it is to launch itself into the postseason over the final few games.
25. Portland Timbers
Previous ranking: 25
The Timbers have a habit of doing the work to get more from a result but somehow walking away short of three points. In a 0-0 draw against Colorado, they couldn't break through in the final third, and they will struggle to break into the playoffs with tough tests ahead -- Charlotte and Houston at home, St. Louis and Austin away -- to close out the season.
26. Austin FC
Previous ranking: 26
With only SKC keeping them above last place in the West, Verde fans can take pride in small victories such as limiting first-place Vancouver in a slim 2-1 defeat.
27. D.C. United
Previous ranking: 27
Sean Johnson's three saves did their best, but United suffered their second 4-1 loss in three games, this time against Orlando. The good news? They beat RBNY in between and can technically still make the playoffs -- but so can everyone else.
28. Atlanta United
Previous ranking: 28
The bad news is Atlanta lost again. The good news is it managed to stop Lionel Messi from getting a hat trick in the 3-1 loss to Inter Miami.
29. Sporting Kansas City
Previous ranking: 29
In their first match since officially getting eliminated from the playoffs, SKC have lost again, this time against RSL.
30. CF Montréal
Previous ranking: 30
Montreal is on the cusp of being the first team in the East eliminated from the playoffs after drawing against Seattle 1-1, and it could have the honor of being eliminated by Nashville on the same night that club clinches the Shield. In between: the Canadian Championship final.