The biggest MLS comebacks and collapses, 1996 to 2025
The deepest hole an MLS winner has climbed out of is 15 points, by Columbus Crew in the 2009 Supporters' Shield, Sporting Kansas City in the 2011 Eastern and Red Bull New York in the 2015 Eastern. 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.
Sporting Kansas City trailed the 2011 Eastern race by 15 points on May 28, 2011, and won it by 2 points.
Red Bull New York trailed the 2015 Eastern race by 15 points on June 27, 2015, and won it by 7 points.
LA Galaxy trailed the 1999 Western race by 12 points on May 22, 1999, and won it by 3 points.
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.
Chivas USA trailed the 2007 Western race by 11 points on July 12, 2007, and won it by 1 point.
Chicago Fire trailed the 2003 Eastern race by 10 points on May 24, 2003, and won it by 8 points.
Red Bull New York trailed the 2010 Eastern race by 10 points on August 5, 2010, and won it by 1 point.
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.
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 led the 1999 Western race by 8 points as late as April 17, 1999, and finished behind LA Galaxy.
San Jose Earthquakes led the 2002 Western race by 8 points as late as July 26, 2002, and finished behind LA Galaxy.
Chivas USA led the 2009 Supporters' Shield race by 8 points as late as May 23, 2009, and finished behind Columbus Crew.
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.
MetroStars led the 2004 Eastern race by 7 points as late as August 13, 2004, and finished behind Columbus Crew.
Latest deciding day
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. The season's charted days include 2 breaks in the schedule.
With no charted days left to play, LA Galaxy took first place in the 2010 Western race for good on October 24, 2010, having led on 211 of the race's 214 charted days.
With one charted day left to play, Sporting Kansas City took first place in the 2011 Eastern race for good on October 22, 2011, having led on 26 of the race's 223 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. 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 the club furthest ahead that day, 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 in points over the nearest club 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 season.
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. Here level means level on points: a winner ahead only on the league's tiebreakers has not yet taken first place for good, so this date can fall after the day it went top. Ties are broken by the deepest deficit the winner came back from, then oldest first. 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.