Match Week 5: D.C. United poised for playoff run with fourth seed in East?

At the bottom of the relegation standings, you will see a hypothetical playoff bracket with seedings of where teams would be if the season ended today. D.C. United should wish the season today because the beleaguered franchise actually has the fourth seed in the East as things stand now.

Maybe this rare taste of success will bring a few people out to the game because televised games from RFK Stadium are a terrible environment with barely anybody there, and it presents a bad image of soccer in the United States every time NBC Sports Network and MLS decide RFK is the location for the game of the week. 

Standings adjusted for all competitions and weighted by talent level at all three leagues.

MLS 1

First Division West

13   FC Dallas

11   Sporting Kansas City

9   Real Salt Lake

8   Vancouver Whitecaps

7   Colorado Rapids

7   Seattle Sounders

7   LA Galaxy

6   Houston Dynamo

5   Chivas USA

4   Chicago Fire

3   Portland Timbers  

2   San Jose Earthquakes

0   San Antonio Scorpions

First Division East

9   Columbus Crew

9   Toronto FC

6   Philadelphia Union

4   D.C. United

4   New England Revolution

4   New York Red Bulls

2   Montreal Impact

2   Orlando City

0   New York Cosmos

0   Carolina RailHawks

0   Rochester Rhinos

-    New York City FC (2015)

-    Miami (2016)

MLS 2

Second Division West

2   LA Galaxy II

1   Dayton Dutch Lions

1   Oklahoma City Energy

0   Sacramento Republic

0   Orange County Blues

0   Atlanta Silverbacks

0   FC Edmonton

0   Minnesota United

0   Indy Eleven

0   Arizona United

-    Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2015)

-    Tulsa Roughnecks (2015)

-    Oklahoma City (2015)

Second Division East

2   Richmond Kickers

1   Charleston Battery

0   Wilmington Hammerheads

0   Harrisburg City Islanders

0   Pittsburgh Riverhounds

0   Charlotte Eagles

0   Tampa Bay Rowdies

0   Fort Lauderdale Strikers

0   Ottawa Fury

-    Puerto Rico Islanders (2014 fall)

-    Virginia Cavalry (2015)

-    Jacksonville Armada (2015)

If the Playoffs Started Today...

MLS Cup

(1W) FC Dallas vs. (4E) D.C. United

(2W) Sporting Kansas City vs. (3E) Philadelphia Union

(3W) Real Salt Lake vs. (2E) Toronto FC

(4W) Vancouver Whitecaps vs. (1E) Columbus Crew

Relegation Playoff

(LW) San Antonio Scorpions vs. (LE) Rochester Rhinos

Promotion Bowl

(1W) LA Galaxy II vs. (4E) Harrisburg City Islanders

(2W) Dayton Dutch Lions vs. (3E) Wilmington Hammerheads

(3W) Oklahoma City Energy vs. (2E) Charleston Battery

(4W) Sacramento Republic vs. (1E) Richmond Kickers