The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 14A wild week in the Championship
Another busy week in the Forge household, but we finally got around to this. 7 teams stood pat this week, which is rare. A few big movers though, including one rather surprising one. Oh, and there were a ton of goals.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note |
| 1 | Memphis 901 | 2 | 1 | 6-2-3 | 26.071 | Memphis continue to ride the production of 18-year-old Nighte Pickering, whose goal and assist made for a 3-1 win in Louisville. 5 straight wins and they have games in hand. |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 4 | 2 | 7-2-5 | 21.627 | The Riverhounds needed just 22 seconds for the winning goal against Charleston and finished 2-0 in a comprehensive performance. Top of the East, also with a 5-game win streak. |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1 | -2 | 7-4-3 | 20.668 | The Rowdies scored on 3 of their 4 shots on goal to edge New Mexico at home. Very much in contention in the East but tough trip to El Paso next. |
| 4 | El Paso Locomotive | 3 | -1 | 8-3-2 | 20.222 | El Paso finally dropped points after 7 wins, tying 2-2 with San Antonio, and they weren’t the better team in the game. |
| 5 | Sacramento Republic | 5 | 0 | 8-1-5 | 17.982 | Sacramento had the better chances in the 1-1 draw in San Diego but couldn’t finish them. They remained (temporarily) top of the West. Monterey Bay visits this weekend. |
| 6 | Oakland Roots | 6 | 0 | 6-4-3 | 17.847 | Oakland led twice in Phoenix but gave up a late blooper goal to finish it 2-2 in a generally even contest. Big game against Pittsburgh this week. |
| 7 | Indy Eleven | 7 | 0 | 4-5-4 | 15.010 | Indy Eleven lost defender Adrian Diz Pe early to a red card, went down a goal, saw Hartford get a red card, equalized, then lost sub Gustavo Rissi to another red card. 3 decent results in the last four, but they are short due to injuries and reds. Birmingham this week. |
| 8 | San Antonio | 8 | 0 | 6-2-6 | 14.655 | A huge howler by Jordan Farr and 2 offside goals cost San Antonio the win over El Paso. Still close to the Western crown, but have played more games than the leaders. |
| 9 | Monterey Bay Union | 15 | 6 | 5-4-5 | 13.602 | Monterey Bay got very lucky several times and especially late in Las Vegas to win 2-1 and hold on to 6th in the West. SacRep next though. |
| 10 | Detroit City | 14 | 4 | 3-7-3 | 12.889 | Detroit City had to wait out a 3-hour lightning delay to kick off in Charleston and were generally the better team in a somewhat lifeless 0-0 draw. |
| 11 | San Diego Loyal | 13 | 2 | 6-4-4 | 10.342 | The Loyal were a bit lucky to escape with a 1-1 draw with SacRep to follow the 3-3 goalfest with San Antonio last week. Holding on to a home playoff spot, barely. |
| 12 | Louisville City | 11 | -1 | 6-4-3 | 9.910 | Lou City did not look good in the 1-3 home loss to Memphis. Wilson Harris is a constant threat, but the rest of the team seems rather out of sorts. Off to Phoenix next. |
| 13 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 20 | 7 | 6-7-1 | 9.350 | A visit by Orange County was what Colorado Springs needed to break a 5-game losing streak. A dubious PK aside, the 4-0 result was never in doubt. |
| 14 | FC Tulsa | 10 | -4 | 2-5-7 | 8.817 | Tulsa traveled to Loudoun, got a 3rd minute PK, then gave up an own goal 15 minutes later, followed up by another goal 5 minutes after that and a 2nd half PK to lose 1-3. They continue to be erratic. |
| 15 | New Mexico United | 9 | -6 | 4-6-2 | 8.580 | In their first game without coach Zach Prince, New Mexico United lost a close one in Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-3. 3 defeats in a row, but a chance to correct that against RGV this weekend. |
| 16 | Hartford Athletic | 19 | 3 | 2-7-4 | 7.584 | Giving up a man advantage was dumb, and it cost the Athletic a win. 1-1 against Indy and they remain the league’s worst team. |
| 17 | Phoenix Rising | 17 | 0 | 4-4-5 | 7.329 | The Rising trailed twice but got a late equalizer to split the points 2-2 with Oakland at home. Clinging to the last playoff spot but Louisville is up this week. |
| 19 | Orange County | 12 | -7 | 3-8-4 | 4.966 | After 2 decent results against Miami and RGV, Orange County were back to normal, losing 0-4 to the Switchbacks. Off to Tulsa this week and a chance for points. |
| 20 | Loudoun United | 24 | 4 | 4-9-1 | 3.547 | Loudoun finally ended a 7-game losing streak with the 3-1 win over Tulsa in an untidy game. Trips to Miami and Birmingham this week. |
| 21 | Charleston Battery | 16 | -5 | 7-4-4 | 3.305 | The Battery had Trey Muse to thank for a 0-0 home draw with Detroit but then got well beaten in Pittsburgh, 0-2. 1 point from the last 3 games and they’ve been outscored 0-6. |
| 22 | Birmingham Legion | 21 | -1 | 5-7-1 | 0.848 | Birmingham Legion were on a bye this week. |
| 23 | The Miami FC | 23 | 0 | 2-5-7 | 0.087 | The bottom 2 in the rankings battled it out to a 3-3 draw. Miami FC led twice but couldn’t hold on at the last gasp. 2 points from the last 5 games; Loudoun coming up. |
| 24 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 22 | -2 | 2-5-6 | -0.175 | The Toros needed a 97th minute equalizer to share points with Miami FC 3-3. And that’s 3 more goals than in the previous 3 games. |
