Spagnuolo's Super Bowl wizardry wilts as the Chiefs' defense gets sliced up by the Eagles

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had the worst season of his mostly distinguished coaching career when he spent Sundays on the New Orleans Saints' sideline in the Superdome.

It was a house of horrors for him again in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. They racked up 345 yards in a 40-22 rout to deny the two-time defending champion Chiefs a third consecutive Lombardi Trophy.

“Their pass game was rolling, you know. And at the end of the day, they just came out and played harder than us,” Chiefs star cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “Gotta take it on the chin and learn from it."

Spags, as he is often called, entered this Super Bowl as one of the more talked about — and celebrated — figures in the game. He’d interviewed recently for head coaching jobs with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders.

With victories as a coordinator in four previous Super Bowls, Spagnuolo was seen as a master at using exotic blitzes to neutralize what opposing offenses do best. It worked against Houston quarterback CJ Stroud in the divisional round and Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the AFC championship game, and it helped the Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl two years ago.

But while the Chiefs largely contained Eagles record-setting running back Saquon Barkley, holding him to 57 yards on Sunday night, Philadelphia found plenty of other ways to move the ball and score.

“They had a heck of a game plan. They executed. They outplayed us to a man,” Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis said. “It’s the reality of the game we play. It sucks. They played a phenomenal game. They had a great game plan. We needed to do more.”

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was a non-factor before leaving the game with a knee injury in the second half, as was the entire Kansas City pass rush.

They failed to get to Jalen Hurts, whose 221 yards and two TDs passing included a 46-yard scoring strike deep down the middle to DeVonta Smith that helped to put the game away.

“Spags did a few different things; he had a couple blitzes in there," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I thought the backs did a nice job — both of them — of picking the blitz up. And when we got through, (Hurts) moved, and they got some big plays.”

Hurts also rushed for 72 yards, and Kansas City's defensive front was no match for Philadelphia's tush push from the 1-yard line that gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead — one that they would never relinquish.

Hurts "played really well, and he was poised the whole game,” Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown said. “You know, he’s in control. And he made checks and he threw dimes and he just gave us opportunities. And when we were covered a little bit, he ran, used his legs.”

In the end, the Super Bowl was reminiscent of Spagnuolo's lone season with New Orleans in 2012, when the 7,042 yards allowed by the Saints set an enduring NFL record for most yards allowed in a season.

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Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) makes a catch in front of Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) is hit by Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid (20) during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) evades pressure from Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (91) during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) walks off the field after an injury followed by head coach Andy Reid during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) makes a touchdown catch past Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

FILE - Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.

“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.

Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson, called the ruling “a vindication of the rule of law.”

In a statement, she said the department will “work to enforce his lawful removal order” and encouraged Khalil to “self-deport now before he is arrested, deported, and never given a chance to return.”

It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.

In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil called the appeals ruling “deeply disappointing."

“The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability," he said. "I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts."

“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he said.

The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.

Khalil’s lawyers can request that the panel's decision be set aside and the matter reconsidered by a larger group of judges on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested last March. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child.

Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil, 31, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.

The government justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.

President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.

Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said on social media Thursday that Khalil should remain free.

“Last year’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was more than just a chilling act of political repression, it was an attack on all of our constitutional rights,” Mamdani wrote on X. “Now, as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian free speech continues, Mahmoud is being threatened with rearrest. Mahmoud is free — and must remain free.”

Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level, even though his immigration case isn't complete.

Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.

The two-judge majority rejected Freeman's worry that their decision would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.

“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments," the judges wrote.

The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.

His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.

Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister and Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this story.

FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)