Here are the ten things we learned from Week 20 of the 2017 MLS season.

1. Atlanta Are Cup Contenders

Atlanta United got what is arguably the best win of their expansion season on Friday night, beating Orlando City 1-0 in Florida on a stunning late goal from Hector Villalba.

It was a gutty performance from Atlanta, and it resulted in a win on night when they didn’t have Josef Martinez in the lineup or Miguel Almiron at his best.

This team is for real, and the numbers are beginning to tell the same story. Atlanta is fourth in the league in points, tied for second in wins, and tied for first in goals scored. They’ve won five of their last six, and have a boatload of home games upcoming.

But the most promising news for Atlanta is that their defense is beginning round into form. The Five Stripes have three clean sheets in their last four games, and have upgraded significantly at right back where Antone Walkes has replaced the declining Tyrone Mears.

Atlanta’s offense has been championship-caliber from day one. Now their defense is approaching that clip. Forget playoffs. In its first year, Atlanta should be thinking silverware.

2. Orlando’s Spiral Continues

On the other side of that result on Friday night was Orlando, a club that has now won just two games since April, and is currently tenth in the Eastern Conference on goal difference.

The Lions have scored three goals in their last five games, and continue to get next to nothing from the league’s highest paid player in Kaka.

Between Jason Kreis saying before Friday’s game that the stadium has gone quiet in recent weeks, reports of fan violence continue to spill out on social media, and the team not scoring any goals, the feeling around the club continues to be unpleasant.

A Dom Dwyer trade could, of course, change all of that very quickly.

3. Timbers Get Gut Check Win

Heading into their game on Sunday afternoon at BC Place against Vancouver, the Portland Timbers had just two wins in their last fourteen games, no wins in their last six, and were missing a whopping twelve first team players.

They won, 2-1.

That’s MLS for you. But while the result was odds-defying – Portland rounded out its matchday squad of sixteen with two players called up from its USL reserve team – it wasn’t at all undeserved.

The Timbers got a goal and an assist from number four overall draft pick Jeremy Ebobisse in his first MLS start, and three massive saves from goalkeeper Jake Gleeson in what was his best game of the season.

It was a hugely needed result for the Timbers, who, despite their dreadful form through the last three months, are in still a fairly comfortable position in the Western Conference playoff race.

4. Goalkeeping Woes in LA

There are no shortage problems right now with the LA Galaxy, who lost two more games this week – including another at home on Wednesday night against Vancouver – but the team’s goalkeeping has, all year, been near the top of the list.

Clement Diop has been a well-publicized mess in his time in goal, but Brian Rowe – such a steady performer in 2016 – hasn’t been much better.

Rowe struggled again over the weekend in New England, and you have to wonder if Onalfo’s rotating him with Diop the beginning of the season – an odd move even before anyone got a good look at Diop – took a toll.

Rowe has also dealt with a groin injury this year, and LA’s rotating cast of defensive characters hasn’t exactly made things difficult for opposing attacks. Still – goalkeeper was one spot where the Galaxy should have been sound this year. When it rains, it pours.

5. What Will New England Do?

The Revs, with the help of Rowe and that atrocious LA back six, got back in the win column in front of a big crowd at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that New England is still in tenth place in the East and eight points off the red line with the season now almost two thirds gone.

The Revs should be active in the coming days. The club appears to be actively trying to move Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury – who combined for three goals with Juan Agudelo on Gold Cup duty over the weekend – and it desperately needs help defensively.

As always with New England, the attacking talent is there to make a run. Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez and Agudelo should make up one of the league’s best front fours.

The issues are around defense, chemistry, and consistency. It’s a big stretch for manager Jay Heaps and GM Michael Burns.

6. Conference Imbalance Continues

With the New York Red Bulls picking up two wins this week, and Columbus beating Philadelphia over the weekend, the Eastern Conference now has six teams that have won ten or more games this season.

The Western Conference has none.

In Toronto, Chicago, NYCFC, and Atlanta, the East has the league’s four best teams on points. The West’s fourth placed team, Portland, would be in seventh in the East.

Why the dramatic shift in conference power? Atlanta’s expansion success – especially compared to Minnesota’s lack thereof – has been a big factor. But so has the sudden revival of Chicago, and the sudden fall from grace of LA.

7. San Jose Comes Back To Earth

The Earthquakes had made a bright start to life under new manager Chris Leitch before the Gold Cup breaking, getting a couple of strong results headlined by that heart-stopping Cali Clasico win over the Galaxy at Stanford.

This week, though, they came crashing back to earth – outscored by a combined 8 goals to 1 in Harrison and Seattle against the Red Bulls and Sounders.

The ‘Quakes’ problems haven’t often been on the defensive side of the ball over the last several years, but they were exposed in both games in Leitch’s new 3-5-2.

If that’s San Jose’s formation for good, and Leitch continues to attacking through his fullbacks and center mids, the ‘Quakes are going to have to get quicker at center back. Fatai Alashe should see some minutes there going forward.

8. Chicago Close To Quintero?

Taylor Twellman reported Sunday that the Chicago Fire continue to negotiate with Colombian playmaker Juan Quintero, and their Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup hopes may just rest on getting a deal done.

The Fire have had a wonderful season, and they’re a fabulous team to watch. But as Saturday’s loss at NYCFC showed, Chicago remains one piece away from a becoming top-level title threat.

The Fire played the game on Saturday up a man for nearly 80 minutes, but lost 2-1. David Villa was excellent, and Chicago had all kinds of chances late on, but the story was similar to that when the Fire were eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup by Cincinnati: Chicago needs a true game-breaker in the last third.

That’s because the Fire have plenty of elite third-line playmakers – Dax McCarty, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Juninho – but they lack a true #10. With Quintero on board, they’d have one of the best 10s in the league.

9. Game of the Week…

Next week’s marquee matchup? Look no further than TCF Bank Stadium, where the two worst teams in MLS – DC United and Minnesota United – will meet for the first and only time this season.

This last week was not kind to either club. DC blew a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 at Seattle on Wednesday – the biggest meltdown in MLS history – and then were brushed aside 3-1 at home by Houston on Saturday.

Minnesota, meanwhile, dealing with all kinds of injuries and international absences, clung on for a 0-0 draw against Houston midweek before being pasted 3-0 at home by the Red Bulls over the weekend.

SEE MORE: Schedule of MLS games on US TV and streaming

What do DC and Minnesota have in common? They are two of the most cheaply constructed teams in the league. Perhaps that will change when their new stadiums open in the next two years, but for now, the struggles of both clubs can’t be particularly surprising.

In MLS’s third decade, you have to spend – on your academy, your first team, and everything in between – to win. These days, there are no shortcuts.

10. Petke’s Rant

Mike Petke’s tirade after Real Salt Lake’s 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City, complete with visual aids and a tale of a broken printer, has already passed into MLS lore.

Petke, already stewing over the red card shown to RSL captain Kyle Beckerman on Wednesday in Portland, was sent off after series of calls went against Salt Lake midway through the second half.

Petke is a show in and of himself. He’s a good coach – RSL is leagues ahead of where they were at the start of the season – but he also makes the club relevant in a way that Jeff Cassar never could.

For Dell Loy Hanson, an owner who craves relevance above all else, Petke is a perfect fit – and that’s a good thing. MLS is better with Petke in it.