How Prolific Can FC Dallas' 2026 Be?
With nine games to go in the 2026 MLS season, FC Dallas sits on 43 points while being third in the Western Conference. Barring major catastrophe, Dallas will blast by last season's 44 points as soon this Saturday versus Austin. There's every chance Dallas will log one of their best seasons ever. While MLS Cup might be a stretch, that doesn't mean this season won't be remembered fondly.
Let's compare this season to some of Dallas' prior bests, how 2026 stacks up, and the odds that Dallas exceeds their previous highs.
Total Points
As mentioned above Dallas has nine games left in 2026, the majority of those coming at home. With a possible 27 points up for grabs, Dallas can max out at 70 points should they run the table. That'd be remarkable even if maybe not plausible.
Instead they could set their sights lower, aiming for 61 points. That'd give Dallas their best point total in franchise history, topping 2015 and 2016 where they logged 60. Notably '16 was the double winning season, but based on Nashville (54 points) and Vancouver (46 points) Supporter's Shield feels a bridge too far.
Those two 60 point teams averaged 1.76 points/game across a 34 game season. This version of Dallas is hot on their tail, averaging 1.72 points/game. Dallas' home form will be vital to their chances of breaching that number. Here are the remaining six home opponents for the Burn:
-Austin
-LAFC
-Seattle
-San Jose
-Columbus
-Colorado
Based on current form, Dallas should be favorites against every single home foe down the stretch. That's 18 points which by itself would push them to 61. It'd also give them 38 home points overall, which would be two points off 2016's number (40) and three off 2015's (41).
As good as those teams were at home, 2026 Dallas smokes them away from Toyota Stadium. With three road games left, Dallas already has both more road points (24) and wins (7) than either of those teams. It's also worth noting: 2026 Dallas did all this with a two month road trip AND a World Cup break amplifying the difficulty. Even so, they're outperforming the best squads in franchise history on the road.
18 out of 27 points is a big ask, that's six wins flat or some combination of wins and draws that add up to 18. Even so, this squad has a mojo that can't be denied. I'm not going to declare they'll break the single season point record. I'm also not going to say they won't either.
Goal Scoring
If you're looking for a record Dallas could send into the stratosphere, it's the single season goal record. Dallas' highest goal total for a season is 55, done in both 2014 and 1997. 2026 Dallas is sitting on 49 after Saturday's 2-1 win, putting them six goals from tying seven from breaking.
If they maintain their current 1.96 goals/game pace Dallas will score either 17 or 18 goals (rounding up) down the stretch. That would take them from 49 to 66/67, shattering the record and then some.
To the shock of nobody, Petar Musa's prolific season is helping carry Dallas to this mark. In 2014 Dallas' top scorer was Blas Perez, who tallied 11 scores. Meanwhile in '97 it was Dante Washington who had 12. Those other two record seasons did a lot more scoring by committee:
2014
-Blas Perez: 11
-Fabian Castillo: 10
-Michel: 8
Tesho Akindele: 8
1997
-Dante Washington: 12
-Damian Alvarez: 11
-Jason Kreis: 8
-Gerell Elliott: 7
Meanwhile 2026 Dallas is top heavy with Musa at 18, Logan Farrington at 9, before going all the way down to four players tied at 3.
If the Big Dog can notch 10, the Perfect Pairington would be Dallas' first pair of players to score 10+ in the same season since 2022. That year Jesus Ferreira had 18, joined by Paul Arriola's 10. Before that you've got to go back all the way to 2017, when Maxi Urruti had 12 and Roland Lamah (remember him?) had 11.
This one I will say with certainty: Dallas will set a new single season goals mark, and they'll set it high.
Goal Prevention
Unlike the previous two record, this one isn't happening.
Dallas has already conceded 42 goals this year. If they miraculously didn't concede another goal this year, it'd rank sixth in the 34 MLS game era (Dallas has conceded fewer, but those all came either in 2020 or shorter full seasons). Their current pace of 1.68 goals allowed/game means they're expected to concede 15 more goals down the stretch. That'd put them at 57 total, which would be their worst ever mark in 34 games.
The previous high in a 34 match year was the disastrous 2024 season where they allowed 56. Somehow two seasons are worse overall: 1998 with 59 in 32 games and 64 in 2003 across 30 games.
Some of this is Dallas going to extremes on each end of the concession spectrum. This year Dallas has:
-Four shutouts
-Nine games of one conceded
-Six games of three conceded
-One game of five conceded
Conceding one or fewer goals in thirteen of 25 games is a good mark overall, but the bigger numbers along with senseless goals like the one Portland scored last Saturday bloat the total. Depending on your viewpoint, this is either comforting or concerning. The postseason margins are thinner than the regular season, and Dallas will need to improve if they want autumn success.
Overall outlook
While not official, SixOneFive's Scorigami bot sent this post out after Dallas' win against Portland:
MLS Scorigami
It's worth noting that the model isn't perfect: for example they've got San Jose at slightly better playoff/MLS Cup odds than Dallas despite having more losses, less points, and less goals scored.
Even so, Dallas' odds are sensational based on where this club was two years ago. A reasonable goal is to improve over the previous season, which Dallas is all but assured of doing. Whether this model is sustainable for five, eight, or ten plus years is unknown. What is for sure is 2026 appears one for both the record books and the supporter's memory banks. Even if the team doesn't lift league wide hardware, that should mean a lot for a club lacking in memorable seasons over the last decade.
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