In the first game of their best-of-three Hell is Real first-round playoff series, the No. 7-seeded Crew were defeated 1-0 by the No. 2 seed Cincinnati on Oct. 27 at TQL Stadium.

The Crew won the Eastern Conference Finals against their in-state rival in 2023 and went on to win the MLS Cup in manager Wilfried Nancy's first year leading the Crew.