“Hands team” was not the issue.
We didn’t mishandle the ball.
The issue was FORMATION - guys NOT on the 45 yard line.
Put 8 guys on the 45, all with casts on both hands, they kick it deep.
Put 4 guys on the 45 and back the rest to the 40 and 35, and you give them the opportunity.
It stems - again - from clock management. We did not need a return. We needed to eat clock. We needed the ball. The automatic soul deep lifetime of experience already-learned-this lesson reaction to that situation was to put guys on the 45 and guarantee possession. Instead, we just assumed they’d kick it, and we did ”the usual.”
On our right side, we had 2 guys on thier47, one on their 49 and one on our 45. But on our left, we had 1 guy wide on the 49, and a guy on OUR 45. It was a freaking invitation.
Sigh.