The season is over it’s done from winning the Supporter’s Shield to mid-table again. As a diehard fan, this is very disappointing. After winning the MLS Supporter’s Shield, breaking the points record, and being the most fun-to-watch team I have watched in a decade I expected at least a playoff birth after the heartbreak last season. 10 wins, 12 draws, 12 losses, and a minus three-goal difference. The season ended in the way that it had started, it seemed since February the team hadn’t learned anything about conceding last-minute goals at the death. 

Trust me, I am a diehard fan, I have been through thick and thin with this team. From barely missing the playoffs to breaking the point record in the MLS. Yes, I have a negative outlook on this article because to quote Bruce Arena: “If you go through the season, the number of games we’ve actually blown, just screwed up, is incredible.” So, I will be going through each month of the Season from February to October and everything in between. 

The season started with a big stage game against the defending MLS Cup Finalists Portland Timbers. The headlines were crazy and coming back from a ski trip, I stopped for an overnight layover in Texas and watched the game there with my cousins before we got back to Boston. My mindset for this game was simple, I will take a point, but all three would be massive. The Revs started out great and had a 2-1 lead on the road in one of the toughest environments in all of MLS. But then they gave up a goal in the 78th minute and had to settle for a point. Not horrible, but they moved on.

March began with a convincing home-opening win at Gillette 1-0 over FC Dallas, all 3 points were expected and all three points were got, Carles scored his first goal of the season. Next was another match at home in the Concacaf Champions League against Pumas UNAM in Gillette. The Revs got off to a good start and were significantly better throughout the game. They ended up winning 3-0 and hopes were high going into Mexico City. In between the first game, there was a home fixture against Real Salt Lake, the Revs were better through 90 minutes but started the triggering trend of blowing it, allowing 2 goals at the death in snowy Foxborough to lose 3-2. It was one of the worst losses that I have seen as a Revs fan. It was the art of blowing a game that you had in your grasp. The second leg of the Concacaf Champions League was next in a daunting environment in Mexico City. The Revs were terrible in this leg and were nothing like the first leg in Gillette. They lost 3-0 to an inferior opponent and were emptied out of the champions league on Penalties, the Revs keeper managed to save one of the penalties but Lleget blasted it over the bar to give Pumas the win. The final match in March was a bout against new MLS team Charlotte FC, looking for their first-ever win, and they got it, defeating a poor Revs squad 3-1 at home. The loss was pitiful, the Revs looked like they were in for a long season.

April started quickly with a two-week break and then a fixture against NY Red Bulls, where you guessed it, the Revs blew it. It was in the worst of ways, at Gillette Stadium it was 0-0 until in the dying minutes a Revs own goal that was terrible ended up in the back of the net giving the Red Bulls the win on the road. It was horrible, through 7 games the revs had dropped 7 points in a leading position at the death. The revs then had to go down to Miami and play Inter Miami away from home and again had a leading position 1-0 early into the match. But they gave up 3 more goals, and only scored a penalty past that. The Revs were unable to keep the lead and lost 3-2 on the road. The Revs then went back home seven days later and avenged their 3-1 loss in Charlotte by winning 2-1 in Gillette. A bounce-back must-win game that the Revs were able to win set them up well but they needed a string of wins not just a win here or there. The Rev’s next fixture was a bout in D.C. they needed a point or all three to jumpstart the journey to the MLS playoffs. The game started out good, the Revs took another 1-0 lead on the road against a formidable team, but then they gave up three straight goals in seventeen minutes, the Revs were able to pull one back at the end but it wasn’t enough as the Inter Miami effect rolled it’s ugly head again. Coming back to Gillette for the final game in April, they played Inter Miami a team just three weeks ago, they lost 3-2 on the road. The result that day, however, was different. The Revs easily won 2-0 and did what they should have done three weeks ago and won.

May arrived and the Revs had many key fixtures. They started against Columbus Crew at home, and all three points were crucial. The Revs had all three points and all was well until the 90th minute. The Revs gave up another goal, at the death, while leading, against a formidable opponent. It was just so poor, the defense only needed to just buckle down for another 5 or so minutes, and the Revs consistently couldn’t. It became an absolute nightmare for them as they dropped 2 more important points. Next was a U.S. Open Cup Fixture for the Revs and they hammered F.C. Cincinnati 5-1 at Gillette. It was a sight to see, and they advanced to the next round. Then they went down to Atlanta, against another formidable opponent. They had a 2-1 lead, on the road… and they blew it. They gave up a goal not at the death, but in a leading position. It didn’t feel as bad because it wasn’t at the death, but it still dropped points. The Revs were finally on the giving end of an at-the-death goal with a 2-3 win against F.C. Cincinnati on the road. The Revs then traveled to New York City to play NYCFC in the open cup. They lost in Extra Time, a heartbreaking loss and another one for a Revs team that seemed all too familiar with games like that. The last game of May was against Philadelphia at home, the Revs were major underdogs so it seemed like three points were out of reach. The Revs played a 1-1 draw that saw them take the lead late, and then for the 7th time bottle it. This time, however, again it didn’t feel as bad as it was to the top seed in the East.

June kicked off and the Revs needed to pick up their form. Amazingly enough, they did just that. They turned their season around, it started with scoring in the 87th minute against Sporting K.C. the opposite of what they had done throughout the season to claim all 3 points. They then took a point from Gillette in a highly competitive game vs Orlando City. They came back home, and coming back from one-nil down they scored two to beat Minnesota F.C. marking seven out of a possible nine in their past three. They then took a point in Vancouver in a boring 0-0 draw, still, however, the Revs chugged on and in June they had 8 out of a possible 12 points in June. A month that was good if the Revs wanted to make a playoff push soon. The times of the Revs blowing it in horrible fashion were over for just a month. They revealed that they were in a prime position to make a playoff push, they put the dumpster fire of a season behind them and make the MLS playoffs after breaking the points record.

July began with a match against F.C. Cincinnati, a team that the Revs hammered 5-1 at home just three weeks ago. They had another 2-1 lead in Foxborough, and they again blew it. Conceding a 73rd-minute goal to F.C. Cincinnati at home in a leading position. Again, after the first good run of form in the entire season in June, the first match in July they again drop points to a team that they hammered three weeks ago. Then the Revs traveled down to New York City again and were victims of refball again. The refs gave New York City three penalties in the first half. They converted two of the penalties and had a 3-1 lead. The Revs and NYCFC traded goals and the match ended 4-2 with a New England red card. The Revs didn’t expect to get anything from the match and they didn’t. The Revs then traveled to Philadelphia, the top seed in the East and the most formidable team in the nation. The Revs grabbed a 1-0 lead and then again, blew it with 15 minutes left by scoring two goals at home. The Revs fell to the ground as the postseason looked further out of reach with every point that they dropped. The next two matches were boring, with two nil-nil draws on the road against Columbus and at home against Toronto. The Revs should have won both games and were better in both.

August started and the conversation for the Revs switched from stop blowing it to start gaining all three points when you need. The Revs needed wins and they started August with just that. A 3-0 win against Orlando City F.C. was their most complete performance of the season to that date, on the road, against another playoff-level team and they smashed them. The Revs then played D.C. United won 1-0 at home, a much-needed win and a boost of confidence, maybe just maybe, they could make the MLS Cup Playoffs and go from there. They then traveled to Toronto and blew it again they had a 2-1 lead on the road, against the worst team in the East and still found a way to concede with less than 15 minutes left. The Revs doubted that it could be worse than that. They had to win out to even sneak into the MLS Playoffs and it was looking like less of a chance each time they dropped points. Now for the lowest point in the season, the Revs had never lost by more than 2 goals this season before this. They had a fixture in Montreal, and in this game, the Revs looked the worst that I had seen in 5 years. They lost 4-0 got thrashed and were never good. This match showed that the Revs were never even in contention for a high seed in the MLS Playoffs, they would enter, get smacked, and leave. But, they didn’t even get that. This match sealed their fate as a mid-table MLS team that just a year removed from smashing everybody, got smashed that night. It truly summed up a very 2022 Revs season. It was the worst performance in five years. They then hosted the mighty La Galaxy which was also having its own struggles this season. They scored two quick goals and knocked the Revs out. They came out stronger in the second half and pulled one back, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. They weren’t ready to play and La was just better. The last match in August was a boring 0-0 draw against Chicago. They should have won and were better, they dropped even more points.

September was the make-or-break month for the Revs everything rode on the backs of these men. The first game was the best performance for the Revs in the entire season. Beating NYCFC a team that beat them twice 3-0 at home in front of their fans. It was a huge victory for a season that lacked a statement win. If the Revs were to gain the maximum amount of points for the rest of the season, they would sneak into the playoffs despite the dumpster fire of a season. The next game was a bout with New York Red Bulls, the Revs got out to a 1-0 lead and then gave up two unanswered goals on the road to give New York Red Bulls the win. The loss was so 2022 New England Revolution that it wasn’t even funny. The Revs were better throughout and just blew it. It wasn’t the end of the world, however, as they traveled to Houston to face the Houston Dynamo, they gave up an early goal, and then they tied it. The Revs looked like they could escape Houston with a point. But they gave up 2 more goals and lost 3-1. They then had a must-win game against Montreal the team that had just thrashed them 4-0 and basically ended their season. They were competitive and I thought that they were going to win 1-0. But with the game tied at 0-0 at home in Gillette in front of their own fans in the 71st minute, a ball was played in behind,  a run was made, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. The stadium grew quiet as the 2022 Revs playoff hopes were dashed. The dumpster fire of a season was finally over. The Revs could reflect on the points that they dropped.

October was a depressing month, the Revs beat Atlanta United, eliminating them from playoff contention and they went to Chicago after. Dylan Borrero scored a beautiful goal and it seemed like the Revs would end the season on a high note, with two straight wins and some positivity heading into 2023. But the Revs, at the death, gave up a game-tying goal to Chicago. What a 2022 Rev’s way to end the season. After I saw so much potential from this team and for them to finish 10th in the East and 20th overall. It was really depressing and after repeating the same thing over and over again for the past 2400 words it seems like you as a reader may be bored of me repeating dropped points, blowing it, and at the death. 

I want to send it off on a good note because I am in no way a Rev’s hater, I mean I write articles on them all the time. If the Revs are doing bad I bash them, if they are doing good I praise them. I think the fundamental problem with them is the fact that they lost so many good players to transfer and the new signings were not going to pan out. Losing Tajon, Turner, and Buksa, arguably our three best players was never going to be good. We signed Omar, Lleget, and Jozy. They have done horrible, one got loaned out, one left, and one is riding the bench, and is the reason the U.S. didn’t qualify for Russia 2018. I thought the season wouldn’t be as good as last year’s but I expected a little bit more than this. 

In conclusion, the 2022 Revs season was a disappointment, no one is denying that but there needs to be some sort of change in the organization, or else this 2021 season would look like an anomaly versus greatness.