Eastern Conference: One stat defining every team & what it means | OneFootball

By Matthew Doyle

The 2025 season is nearly a quarter done, which means underlying numbers are starting to tell us some stuff.

With that in mind, here’s one telling stat (from Opta unless otherwise noted) for each Eastern Conference team, in order of points per game:

Columbus Crew

Stat: 8,045

That’s the number of yards the Crew have carried the ball forward this year, which is first in the league. We rightly venerate them for their commitment to possession and short passing (they are second in the league in possession, first in the league in number of short passes played per match, and dead last in long balls), but it’s important to understand their short passes aren’t just meant to make the team look pretty. It’s meant to make them effective by ripping open lanes for ball carriers to run into, putting the opposing defense into rotation.

We see it basically every week:

When I think about what I want soccer to look like, this is basically it.

Inter Miami CF

Stat: 4.01

Luis Suárez is getting basically four box touches per 90, which is 76th in the league among players with 250+ minutes – just behind Whitecaps central midfielder J.C. Ngando and just ahead of Rapids winger Kévin Cabral.

This is not a complete disaster, since Suárez has been dropping in to do a lot of playmaking (even by his standards) and this Messi guy has done a deeeeecent job of picking up the goalscoring slack. But it’s a huge drop-off from last year, when Suárez was 20th in the league with 6.7 box touches per 90, and there have been times (including this past weekend in Chicago) where Miami’s inability to get him on the end of sequences was pretty glaring.

For them to be the team they’re supposed to be, he needs to be more goal-dangerous.

FC Cincinnati

Stat: 34

That’s the total number of progressive passes hit by Obinna Nwobodo and Brian Anunga, which, combined, is less than Pavel Bucha’s 40.

A divvying up of responsibilities in central midfield that allows each player to play to their strengths is smart, and it’s what Pat Noonan has done. With Matt Miazga back on the field and Evander back in training, we should see Cincy take something close to their best form in the coming weeks, and my guess is they give all those folks who picked them to win the Supporters’ Shield real reason to feel good about that pick.

But there’s still no replacing Bucha in this squad if he goes down for any length of time. They are uniquely vulnerable to an injury or simple fatigue at that spot.

Charlotte FC

Stat: 20.8

That’s the average shot distance of new star DP Wilfried Zaha, who’s been relatively productive but hasn’t quite found a level of chemistry with the rest of the attack just yet. Which… I mean, if your average shot is literally from outside the penalty area, it tells me two things:

It’s worth noting that overall, Charlotte’s average shot distance is 15.2 yards – one of the top marks in the league. So I think Zaha and Liel Abada, whose average shot distance is 19 yards, eventually sort themselves out and start getting more touches in the box.

Nashville SC

Stat: -0.96

That’s the amount Nashville’s three primary attackers – DPs Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge, and midfielder/winger Alex Muyl – are underperforming their expected goals PER GAME!!! We’re not talking an eight-game underperformance; we’re talking about the team’s attacking core basically giving away a goal every single week, as per the nerds at American Soccer Analysis (and every other website more or less corroborates this, even if everyone’s xG formula varies a little bit).

It’s the far column on the right:

The ‘Yotes have otherwise played great soccer (they’re one of the five most attractive teams in the league to watch; B.J. Callaghan has been excellent), and they’re starting to win some games.

If these guys start doing what they’re supposed to in the box, they’ll win a lot of games.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

Philadelphia Union

Stat: 194

The Union are first in the league in total crosses, by a mile. Sometimes that’s good:

They had about four more of these against Miami in the second half of that particular game that could’ve resulted in an equalizer. If the defense is scrambled, and you’ve got an elite crosser of the ball like Quinn Sullivan, and you’re playing with two up top, then yeah, get 'er into ye olde mixer.

But more of these have been against set backlines than I’d like to see, to the extent that the Union’s attack has become a little one-note. And with Dániel Gazdag sold to Columbus, they’re in danger of even more of the attack tilting in that direction.

New York Red Bulls

Stat: 27.0

That’s the number of clearances the Red Bulls have been forced into making per 90 this year, one of the highest marks in the league and an almost 50% jump over last year’s number (18.69, which was about mid-table).

So yeah, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: they’re easier to play through in midfield, which means the backline is being forced to make more plays in the box. The good news is these are generally comfortable-ish defensive interventions, and playing with three center backs, as Sandro Schwarz has opted for most of the year, tends to mean you’re in good shape if you need bodies back there to win a 50/50 and send it to Row Z.

But the data underlines how this is a very different RBNY side playing a very different style than we’re used to seeing. And it hasn’t really been smooth sailing.

Chicago Fire FC

Stat: 11

That’s the number of defensive actions outside of the penalty area that goalkeeper Chris Brady has logged this season, which ties him for eighth in the league with Columbus’s Patrick Schulte.

These are very different players! Schulte’s calling card from Day 1 was how comfortable he is with the ball on his foot; Brady, meanwhile, has always been more of a throwback, a pure shot-stopper who had to polish up the other aspects of his game.

It looks like that’s what’s happening under Gregg Berhalter. Brady’s not only making more defensive interventions outside of the box – a 40% increase over last year, per 90 – but he’s launching far fewer goal kicks, playing shorter passes in general, and playing more passes per 90, which he’s hitting with greater accuracy.

So far it’s working. His shot-stopping numbers have been good (better than last year, in fact), while his passing numbers are an elite 83%, which is significantly higher than last year’s 71%. He has not missed a short or medium-range pass all year, as per FBRef.

But I am mindful of how the core part of Zack Steffen and Matt Turner’s respective games – you know, keeping the ball out of the net – crumbled as more ball-playing responsibility was thrust upon them. If Brady starts showing those same signs, Berhalter’s got to be ready to simplify.

Orlando City

Stat: 3.0

The Lions have been generating three direct attacks per game – i.e., balls through the lines that get them out on the run. Some of them have been among the prettiest attacks we’ve seen in MLS this year:

That’s patience on the ball deep, then suddenly an avalanche heading downhill. It’s who Orlando have become this year (they generate only about 2.2 direct attacks per game last year, which was 25th in MLS) as they’ve gotten more comfortable playing off of Luis Muriel’s movement and flick-on brilliance. And the fact that they’ve mostly kept this identity even as starting midfielders César Araújo and Eduard Atuesta have been sidelined speaks well of the possibility of it translating over the long haul.

New York City FC

Stat: 4.4 and 4.2

That’s the number of box touches the Pigeons’ U22 wingers, Julián Fernández and Agustín Ojeda, are getting per 90.

It’s not enough. Fernández was at 7.69 and Ojeda at 6.18 last year. And even those numbers pale in comparison to the guys they’re ostensibly replacing on the depth chart, Talles Magno (9.69) and Malachi Jones (8.96 – get well soon, buddy).

And this isn’t, I don’t think, a systemic thing, as Hannes Wolf has seen his number climb from 4.53 in 2024 to 5.07 in 2025. How’s he climbing when the kids are dropping?

NYCFC aren't scaring anyone if they’re not getting their wingers into dangerous spots. And this doesn’t just come down to box touches; it’s an all-phases-of-play thing. ASA’s goals added model, which assigns a value to each event, has both Ojeda and Fernández near the bottom of the league in their “receiving” score among wingers. That means what it sounds like: they’re not receiving passes in good/dangerous spots.

Got to fix that or this team will be scrapping for an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot all year, and nothing more.

Atlanta United

Stat: 32.1

Only two other teams, Vancouver and San Jose, start their average passing sequence closer to the right touchline than Atlanta’s 32.1 yards. Last year that number was 34.2 yards – not a huge mathematical distance, but a giant philosophical one, as it was in the bottom third of the league re: distance from that right touchline.

That pretty much tracks with the eye test, which has suggested right back Brooks Lennon is playing a more significant role in Atlanta’s build-ups than last year, or the year before. I have written elsewhere, several times already this season, that that’s not his forte.

The knock-on effect is they’re less sharp on the ball, and as such they’re down near the bottom of the league in through-balls hit per 90 despite having two true through-ball artists (Alexey Miranchuk and Miguel Almirón), as well as a host of the fastest attackers in the league (Almirón, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Saba Lobjanidze, Xande Silva).

New England Revolution

Stat: 0.14

Speaking of through-balls, 0.14 is the number Carles Gil is completing per 90, which is 69th in the league. Last year he hit 0.31 per 90, which was 10th. The year before that he was second behind that year’s MVP, Lucho Acosta, with 0.53.

Through-balls tend to produce the most valuable chances in the game, and honestly, in the modern version of soccer – one more reliant on both pitch control and transitions than what the game was like 15 years ago – it’s the largest part of the argument for playing with a No. 10.

The Revs need to figure out how to create the kinds of passing lanes Gil ripped open for fun in the first part of this decade. Watch him and you’ll see he clearly hasn’t lost a step, so I really think this is a structural thing at play.

Related: The Revs are dead last in MLS in expected assists, and haven’t actually logged either an assist or an open-play goal all year.

D.C. United

Stat: 1.19

That’s the meters-per-second pace at which D.C. have advanced the ball this year, which is significantly slower than last year’s breakneck 1.60 meters/second, which was the third-fastest mark in the league.

This is all part of a conscious effort to become more of a ball-playing team, as we’ve seen D.C.’s passes per sequence jump from 2.8 to 3.2, their time per sequence rise from 7.6 seconds to 8.1, and the percentage of their sequences going 9+ passes jump from 5.4% to 7.4%.

The shift in game model has not gone well, obviously. But it’s understandable, given 1) their over-reliance on long-balls aimed at Christian Benteke last year, and 2) their tendency towards over-pursuit when pressing, that they have tried to slow things down a bit.

Toronto FC

Stat: +2.2

Veteran Sean Johnson has bounced back from a miserable start to the year, saving 2.2 goals over expected over the past four games. Sure, it’s only resulted in three draws and a loss, but they’ve conceded just three goals in that time, and pitched two shutouts. It’s been serious improvement from a guy who was supposed to be a foundational piece for this team, and is now playing like it.

The first four games of the season were rough, as Johnson saved 3.1 fewer goals than expected. The Reds conceded 10 goals across those four games, and Johnson’s struggles compounded some disastrously disorganized defense.

CF Montréal

Stat: 0.88

That’s how many individual errors that lead directly to a shot Montréal are committing per game, which is the worst mark in the league and more than four times their rate last season. You simply aren’t making the playoffs if you’re doing this once every 90 minutes:

All other concerns – and Montréal have plenty – fall away when you’re messing up simple stuff like that.

If they don’t get it right, they’re gonna end up with a Wooden Spoon for their troubles.