The biggest MLS comebacks and collapses, 1996 to 2025
The deepest hole an MLS winner has climbed out of is 15 points: Columbus Crew sat that far behind in the 2009 Supporters' Shield on May 16, 2009, and won it by 1 point. The biggest lead lost: D.C. United led the 2015 Eastern by 11 points as late as July 10, 2015, and finished behind Red Bull New York. Every charted race since 1996 is ranked below; how the numbers are read is spelled out under the lists.
LA Galaxy trailed the 1999 Western race by 12 points on May 22, 1999, and won it by 3 points.
New England Revolution trailed the 2002 Eastern race by 12 points on August 18, 2002, and won it on wins.
San Jose Earthquakes trailed the 2005 Western race by 12 points on June 22, 2005, and won it by 16 points.
LA Galaxy trailed the 2002 Western race by 11 points on July 24, 2002, and won it by 6 points.
D.C. United trailed the 2007 Eastern race by 11 points on May 5, 2007, and won it by 5 points.
Biggest collapses
D.C. United led the 2015 Eastern race by 11 points as late as July 10, 2015, and finished behind Red Bull New York.
Columbus Crew led the 2010 Eastern race by 10 points as late as August 7, 2010, and finished behind Red Bull New York.
FC Dallas led the 2005 Western race by 9 points as late as July 8, 2005, and finished behind San Jose Earthquakes.
Chivas USA led the 2009 Western race by 9 points as late as May 9, 2009, and finished behind Houston Dynamo FC.
LA Galaxy led the 1996 Supporters' Shield race by 8 points as late as July 3, 1996, and finished behind Tampa Bay Mutiny.
Chicago Fire FC led the 1999 Western race by 8 points as late as April 17, 1999, and finished behind LA Galaxy.
Kansas City Wizards led the 2000 Supporters' Shield race by 8 points as late as June 16, 2000, and finished behind Chicago Fire FC.
San Jose Earthquakes led the 2002 Western race by 8 points as late as July 26, 2002, and finished behind LA Galaxy.
FC Dallas led the 2013 Western race by 8 points as late as April 26, 2013, and finished behind Portland Timbers.
Atlanta United led the 2018 Eastern race by 8 points as late as July 7, 2018, and finished behind Red Bull New York.
Latest deciding day
With no charted days left to play, Houston Dynamo FC took first place in the 2009 Western race for good on October 25, 2009, having led on 118 of the race's 221 charted days.
With no charted days left to play, Red Bull New York took first place in the 2013 Eastern race for good on October 27, 2013, having led on 75 of the race's 240 charted days.
With no charted days left to play, Red Bull New York took first place in the 2018 Eastern race for good on October 28, 2018, having led on 19 of the race's 240 charted days.
With no charted days left to play, Colorado Rapids took first place in the 2021 Western race for good on November 7, 2021, having led on 1 of the race's 206 charted days.
With no charted days left to play, San Diego Football Club took first place in the 2025 Western race for good on October 18, 2025, having led on 115 of the race's 239 charted days.
With no charted days left to play, Portland Timbers took first place in the 2017 Western race for good on October 22, 2017, having led on 65 of the race's 234 charted days.
With no charted days left to play, Philadelphia Union took first place in the 2020 Eastern race for good on November 8, 2020, having led on 16 of the race's 254 charted days.
With one charted day left to play, New England Revolution took first place in the 2002 Eastern race for good on September 21, 2002, having led on 2 of the race's 184 charted days.
With one charted day left to play, Portland Timbers took first place in the 2013 Western race for good on October 26, 2013, having led on 12 of the race's 240 charted days.
With one charted day left to play, LA Galaxy took first place in the 2001 Western race for good on September 8, 2001, having led on 16 of the race's 156 charted days.
How these lists are ranked
Everything on this page comes from the same season files the charts draw, with standings read as each day ended. All 92 charted MLS races from 30 finished seasons enter: every conference and Supporters' Shield race from 1996 to 2025. Wild card races are not ranked; their story is the playoff cutoff, not first place. The 2026 season joins these lists when it ends. A team's comeback or collapse is counted once per season, at its deepest, whichever of its charted races it came in.
Biggest comebacks: the deepest deficit the eventual winner faced at the end of a charted day, in points behind that day's leader, dated to the first day it reached that depth. These are the same numbers the turning points on each race page state.
Biggest collapses: the largest lead over second place held at the end of a charted day by a team that did not finish first, dated to the last day the team still held that full lead. A comeback and a collapse read the same race from opposite ends, so they can disagree about one summer.
Latest deciding day ranks winners by how few charted days remained when they took first place for good, which is the day after the last one the winner ended behind or level with another club: a day it only shared the top is not a day it held first place for good, so a late tie pushes the date later. Races whose top two the standings cannot separate appear on none of these lists: the data cannot name a winner. Only finished seasons are ranked; every irregularity in the record is listed in the data notes.