The Red Bulls beat the Philadelphia Union last week and have scored in five of their last six contests. That includes a U.S. Open Cup victory against New York City FC.

Ah yes, NYCFC. The Red Bulls' rivals look like a good team ... again. Last season, the Red Bulls chased them down to take the top spot in the East, which they have to do again this season. They’re already nine points behind first place Toronto FC and two places behind NYCFC, but they have a chance to make up a third of that on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX).

It is there that they will send out Tyler Adams, still just 18 years old, but fresh off of a scintillating U-20 World Cup for the United States. And it was in that U.S. Open Cup clash where he put forth his best performance yet for the Red Bulls, completely dominating the midfield against NYCFC. Asking a teenager to make up for the gaping hole in the midfield that an all-MLS player like McCarty left sounds downright foolish, but it's also the Red Bulls' best option and, so far, the kid is doing everything his team needs and more.

Meanwhile, Wright-Phillips is starting to find his stride again. Last season's Golden Boot winner scored twice in the win over Philadelphia and now has four goals in his last four MLS matches. Kljestan assisted on just one of them, but getting him further up the pitch -- both because of the system, which changed two months ago, and with a more cohesive midfield that gets him the ball without having to come back -- has bettered the Red Bulls' movement in the final third. That's paid off for Wright-Phillips, who also looks more comfortable with the space afforded to him as a lone striker, as opposed to the two-man front that RBNY toyed with.

Of course, there is also just a natural return to form. The Red Bulls stumbled early on in part because quality players who they've depended on before struggled. It wasn't exactly pretty to watch, but it was always going to correct itself in time, and it has.