Over the course of the final two and a half months, quietly but effectively, the Columbus Crew developed into one of the better teams in the league. They lost just two of their final 13 matches, acquired 21 points, which is playoff pace at least, and beat teams like the New York Red Bulls, Atlanta United and the Philadelphia Union, all of which made the Eastern playoffs.
While the start of the 2019 season was wretched for team that lost their starting left-back and creative midfielder to season-long injuries and had replaced their head coach in the offseason after the former was poached by the U.