Seahawks' offense finally finds groove in exhibition finale

The Seattle Seahawks finally got their offense rolling in the team’s final exhibition game of the year against Oakland Saturday evening at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle finished with 377 yards of total offense in a 20-3 win over the Raiders.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson showed what he could do when he had time in the pocket, completing 5 of 7 passes for 88 yards in two series in the opening quarter.

Oakland (0-4) safety Tyvon Branch picked off a pass that Jackson tried squeezing into a tight window to Golden Tate in the end zone on Seattle’s first possession.

But on his only other series, Jackson led Seattle on a five-play, 50-yard scoring drive that ended in a 25-yard field goal by Jeff Reed. Tate had the big play on that drive, a 43-yard reception that put Seattle into field goal position.

“I really feel very good about Tarvaris,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said. “We know what he can do. We’ve seen him again on the practice field. He’s got terrific potential to make plays, and he’s running the offense really well.”

Jackson gave way to Charlie Whitehurst after that, and Seattle’s offense continued to churn yards against the Raiders. Whitehurst finished 9 of 15 for 140 yards.

Starting receivers Sidney Rice (shoulder) and Mike Williams (toe) did not play, but Seattle’s first team offense except for Jackson played most of the first half, with rookies offensive tackle James Carpenter and guard John Moffitt playing much better than they did the week before against Denver.

And after some uneven play during the preseason, second-year receiver Golden Tate erased any doubt about him making the team, finishing with five catches for 79 yards.

Tate also had a 34-yard kick return and a 43-yard punt return in the first half.

“I definitely felt like I was the target today, with Charlie and T-Jack,” Tate said. “So that was some good stuff. I just went out there and played hard, and said look, if all else fails, just find me. I’ll find an open spot.”

With preseason play now over, the Seahawks (2-2) will focus on cutting the roster down from 80 players to the team’s final, 53-man roster by today’s 3 p.m. deadline.

And along with Tate, a couple players helped themselves on Friday.

Undrafted rookie free agent safety Jeron Johnson continued to show a nose for the ball, finishing with three tackles and a pass deflection, including a tackle for a loss.

“I felt like I did everything I can do,” Johnson said. “Everything that I could control, I feel like I went out there and did it tonight. So it’s out of my control now. I’ll just sit back tomorrow and wait to see what happens.”

Seventh-round pick defensive tackle Pep Levingston notched his third sack of the preseason and almost had another one in the final quarter.

“It’s very important (to finish strong),” Levingston said. “A lot of people take preseason lightly, but around here we take it very seriously, like it’s a regular-season game. We’re out there to perform. We’ve got a job to do, and we’re out there to do it.”

And free agent running back Thomas Clayton bowled his way for a game-high 42 yards on 11 carries, including a touchdown on a 1-yard plunge. Fellow running back Vai Taua scored Seattle’s other touchdown from four yards out with 5:12 left in the fourth quarter.

Reed also had a 36-yard field goal for Seattle, and Sebastian Janikowski had Oakland’s only points of the game on a 34-yard field goal.

However, the Seahawks did not escape the injury bug Offensive guard Robert Gallery and defensive tackle Jimmy Wilkerson suffered knee sprains that put their availability in doubt for Seattle’s regular season opener at San Francisco.

“Those are two significant guys where we’ve got to take a look at them and see where Robert will be, and where Jimmy will be for the next week,” Carroll said.

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437

Eric.williams@thenewstribune.com

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