It's a lot of ifs, but they are doable ifs.
Those two teams battled to a 3-3 draw on Sunday, in a game which saw San Jose blow 2-0 and 3-2 leads, the latter of which came with just five minutes remaining. It was a match and a performance that pleased, infuriated and frustrated their Vancouver born head coach Mark Watson all at the same time, but sets them up nicely for a big game in his hometown.
"The mood's good," Watson said after his team trained at BC Place on Tuesday. "There was disappointment after the [Portland] game. Knowing that we had a lead in the 85th minute, that was disappointing. We know we're at the stage of the season with where we are in the table and the number of games left that we need to win games to get to where we want to be.
"A certain level of disappointment, but in the end, a point's not bad against those teams that are right above you. You didn't gain any ground but you didn't lose any as well. But I think the team feels good and we'll dust ourselves off and get ready for another big game Wednesday night."
Three points in Portland for San Jose and all bets are off in the playoff race, but the draw now makes tonight's clash at BC Place a massive match. It's an overused phrase in football these days, but it's an oh so true one for this Whitecaps-Earthquakes encounter, and Watson knows that a win puts his side right back in the playoff mix and gives them some strong momentum for the final stretch.
"These last few games are against the teams that are right above us and they're in the positions that we want to be," Watson said. "I wouldn't use the phrase six pointer, but they're really crucial games and the results will have a big impact as to who finishes where."
With the top four in the West (Seattle, LA, RSL and Dallas) all but having already claimed their postseason berth, it's looking like a shootout between Vancouver, Portland and San Jose for that final place in the playoffs. Nothing is really ever a certainty in football but that's certainly the scenario as Watson sees it right now.
"I think it's pretty clear," he told us. "There's a chance the top four can slip a little bit but just basic math it looks like it's between the three. That's a thing we don't focus on but anyone looking at the standing, it'll kind of jump out at you. It just shows the importance of these past few games for us and obviously Wednesday night."
The Whitecaps can go some way to removing the Earthquakes from that equation if they can get the win tonight. On current form, with no goals in 411 minutes and nine halfs of football, that's a mighty big if, but Watson cares little about the recent form of his opposition and is preparing as he would whether the Caps were flying or in their slump.
"To be honest, we don't focus on that at all. We'll look at Vancouver more on a team perspective and individual players and things we've got to look at and focus on ourselves. We don't focus on that kind of stuff.
"We obviously know they're situation and we know they'll come out motivated. I don't know if that's a positive or a negative sometimes when teams have struggled to score goals, because you know that they're going to come out with so much fire and hunger that it can be a dangerous situation."
A draw doesn't really help either team, but the Whitecaps would certainly take it right now and it keeps them right on the neck of the Timbers.
The way the standings and the remaining schedule have panned out must be something of a wet dream for MLS if results keep things so tight. But it is also one hell of a weird schedule. San Jose hadn't played any of their season's games against Portland until Sunday past and now have tow games against the Timbers and two against the Whitecaps in their final nine games.
It's exciting for the fans, but not ideal as far as Watson is concerned.
"It's not the way you want it," he told us. "You hope for a little bit more of a balance, but in the end the schedule comes out and you deal with it. I guess it's interesting in that you play so many games in a short period of time that you build up a good rivalry and the previous games aren't too distant, so there's a lot of stuff that can add up. But I think a little bit more balance over the course of the season would be preferred."
One of Vancouver's best performances of the season came in their only meeting with San Jose back in May. Three goals in the opening 20 minutes and some beautiful football was played. It was a game that Watson joked that he's blocked from his memory. The Whitecaps can only hope that it's fresh in theirs and can rekindle that same performance because someone's playoff dreams could be shattered by the end of this evening.