FC Dallas, Seattle produce the latest crazy finish in MLS Cup playoffs (Video)

There are some who believe that Major League Soccer should change its format to a regular season single table, rather than two conferences, and abolish the playoffs. Because that's how it's done in most other countries. And most of all, that's how it's done in Europe.

But on Sunday, the MLS Cup playoffs demonstrated once more why they're worthwhile: There is no better entertainment in sports than teams playing for their lives.

After the Columbus Crew ousted the Montreal Impact in the day's second game, the Seattle Sounders eventually fell to FC Dallas on penalties in an epic clash in Texas, living up to the high excitement bar set in these flabbergasting playoffs. It's not often, after all, that a penalty shootout wasn't even the most riveting spell of the contest.

For most of the game, Seattle sat on its 2-1 lead from the first leg and Dallas pressed for a goal, which would see it through on account of its tally in Seattle. But then in the span of seven minutes, as regulation ran out, the aggregate lead changed three times towards the end of the game.

In the 84th minute, Tesho Akindele got his head onto the end of Je-Vaughn Watson's cross to give Dallas what seemed like its liberating goal.

But in the 90th minute, Sounders defender Chad Marshall, who hadn't scored all season, nodded in Marco Pappa's corner kick, sending it to the ground and bouncing into the roof of goal.

Then, just as Seattle seemed to have saved itself, Walker Zimmerman, the substitute defender who hadn't scored since 2013, redirected a ball in the box with his head and evened out the aggregate score.

Here are those three moments again, in succession.

After equalizing a second time, Dallas pushed and pushed, going close several times. But Seattle dragged the game out to penalties. That's when the home team finally prevailed, with 20-year-old goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez making two fine saves and, ultimately, the difference.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.