The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 28One more team in; one more out
Overall, it wasn’t that much of a decisive week in the Championship, with only one more team booking its berth in the playoffs and one team finalizing its elimination that was delayed last week.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note |
| 1 | Phoenix Rising | 4 | 3 | 12-8-9 | 21.598 | Phoenix didn’t score until first half stoppage time, but came out swinging in the second to win 5-0 over Detroit. Now 4th in the West. Danny Trejo’s brace ties him with Albert Dikwa for the league lead with 17. |
| 2 | Monterey Bay Union | 3 | 1 | 11-11-7 | 20.806 | Who had Monterey Bay with a league-best 4-game win streak on their bingo card? Las Vegas scored twice early but the Union came back with 3 of their own to stay just over the playoff line. |
| 3 | Orange County | 1 | -2 | 14-10-5 | 17.900 | Orange County finally lost a game, 0-1 to Colorado Springs Switchbacks despite dominating the attacking stats. They fail to close the gap with San Antonio and remain in 3rd. |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 7 | 3 | 16-5-9 | 17.660 | The Riverhounds needed a very late goal to beat 10-man Miami 2-1 and were not overly convincing as conference leaders. A desperate New Mexico next. |
| 5 | Charleston Battery | 2 | -3 | 15-7-8 | 17.541 | Tristan Trager scored after just 20 seconds, but the lead over Loudoun held up for just 2 minutes. The teams traded 2 more goals over 3 minutes in the second half and ended 2-2. The Battery miss a chance to overtake Tampa. |
| 6 | Louisville City | 10 | 4 | 13-9-7 | 16.140 | Wilson Harris scored in the 5th minute and Lou City sat comfortably on that lead the rest of the game, winning 1-0 over San Diego. They lead Memphis by 1 point for the last Eastern home playoff spot. |
| 7 | FC Tulsa | 13 | 6 | 9-12-9 | 15.979 | Phillip Goodrum scored in the 10th minute and then the game degenerated into a near brawl. Both teams ended with 10 men as Tulsa beat Oakland 1-0 to stay in8th with a 2-point margin. |
| 8 | Sacramento Republic | 11 | 3 | 15-5-9 | 14.268 | SacRep needed 94 minutes to get the only goal in a tough 1-0 win over El Paso. With that they become the first Western team to clinch a playoff berth. |
| 9 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 8 | -1 | 16-7-6 | 13.342 | The Rowdies were down 2 goals in the second half but were up 1 after 81 minutes only to see the tying goal in stoppage time. A wild one in San Antonio. They stay 3 points behind Pittsburgh with a game in hand. |
| 10 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 16 | 6 | 12-13-4 | 12.864 | The Switchbacks rode an 8-save performance by Christian Herrera to beat Orange County 1-0 away. They catch up to Oakland on points, but so did Monterey. They lead on tiebreakers though, sitting in 6th. |
| 11 | Memphis 901 | 12 | 1 | 12-8-9 | 12.603 | Memphis managed to be down 1-2 to Hartford at halftime but hit them with 18 shots in the second half to win 3-2. Road game at Birmingham and Tampa this week are enormous. |
| 12 | Indy Eleven | 5 | -7 | 11-10-8 | 11.910 | Indy will be regretting the saved PK in the 2-3 loss in Albuquerque. The 6-game unbeaten run ends, but they hold position in the standings. |
| 13 | El Paso Locomotive | 14 | 1 | 11-12-6 | 11.289 | El Paso scored early and cruised to a 1-0 win in Las Vegas, then played SacRep fairly close only to lose 0-1 late in a heartbreaker. They stay 1 point out of the playoffs. |
| 14 | San Diego Loyal | 9 | -5 | 12-9-7 | 10.222 | San Diego had 63% possession but were outshot 18-7 by Louisville and lost 0-1. 2 straight losses and they drop out of the home playoff spots. |
| 15 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 18 | 3 | 8-10-11 | 9.877 | The Toros needed a win and they got one in a largely defensive battle, winning 1-0 at home over the Legion. 5 points out of the playoffs with 5 to play; it’ll be tough but the schedule is favorable. |
| 16 | New Mexico United | 22 | 6 | 10-13-6 | 7.771 | New Mexico fell behind early, then avoided doubling the deficit with Andy Thomas stopping a PK. They then scored 3 before giving up a late goal in the 3-2 win over Indy. Playoff hopes barely alive still. |
| 17 | San Antonio | 19 | 2 | 13-5-12 | 7.764 | San Antonio scored more goals than they had in the previous 6 games combined. They still tied the Rowdies 3-3. The winless streak extends to 6, but they hang on the second in the West. |
| 18 | Detroit City | 6 | -12 | 9-13-7 | 7.045 | Detroit managed just 1 shot on goal and were thoroughly whipped by Phoenix 0-5. 2 [points below the playoff line, but they have a game in hand. They have a slightly favorable schedule. |
| 19 | Las Vegas Lights | 17 | -2 | 3-18-9 | 5.974 | The Lights’ 2 best shots in the 0-1 loss to El Paso were both by keeper Leo Diaz, except one was almost in his own net. Then they led by 2 goals against Monterey Bay but still managed to lose 2-3. |
| 20 | Loudoun United | 20 | 0 | 7-19-4 | 5.222 | Loudoun and Charleston traded goals over short periods twice. Hugo Fauroux came up with a huge save in second half stoppage time to preserve the 2-2 draw. 2 points from elimination now. |
| 21 | Birmingham Legion | 15 | -6 | 12-14-3 | 4.495 | The Legion frankly deserved to lose 0-1 in Edinburg, generating almost nothing in attack and looking generally lifeless. Memphis and Miami at home this week and they have to take all 6 points. |
| 22 | The Miami FC | 21 | -1 | 7-14-8 | 3.425 | Miami played Pittsburgh tough despite losing Bolu Akinyode to a second yellow. Still they fell 2-1 to a goal as regulation time ended. 4 straight losses and 7 points out of the playoffs with 5 to play. |
| 23 | Oakland Roots | 23 | 0 | 11-11-7 | 0.299 | There were 13 yellow and 2 red cards in the Roots’ 0-1 loss to Tulsa. Once solid-looking they have lost 4 straight and are down to 7th in a 3-way points tie. |
| 24 | Hartford Athletic | 24 | 0 | 4-20-4 | -0.474 | Hartford looked good in the first half but completely collapsed in the second, going down 2-3 in Memphis and ending their already tiny playoff chances. |
