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On a night when the Seahawks desperately needed to show improvement, they did just that – on several fronts and from several players.

The bottom line was a 20-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders in the preseason finale for both teams at CenturyLink Field. But the storylines on Friday night ran deep and wide as the Seahawks rebounded from a pair of subpar efforts in losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos to grab some momentum heading into their Sept. 11 regular-season opener against the 49ers in San Francisco.

“This was a good finish for us in that we feel like we made some progress in some areas that we needed to and wanted to feel like we were moving ahead – on the offensive side, in particular,” coach Pete Carroll said after the Seahawks had even their preseason record at 2-2.

“I thought it was a nice finish to win here at CenturyLink, to get that feeling for the guys in the locker room.”

The leader of the bounce-back pack was second-year wide receiver Golden Tate, who caught a game-high five passes for 79 yards and also added a 43-yard punt return and a 34-yard kickoff return. In the loss to the Vikings at home two weeks ago, he dropped two passes – including one that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

“It felt better than the last year and the last three preseason games,” Tate said. “We all remember that second one (the loss to the Vikings) was kind of tough for me. I had some drops. I felt like I had a lot to prove. So I just came out and played hard, and played within myself.”

The coaches set it up to give Tate a chance to succeed, as he started because Mike Williams (toe) and Sidney Rice (shoulder) were sidelined.

“The good news is, I mean, everyone’s rooting for me – from the GM (John Schneider), the coaches, the players,” Tate said. “Coach Carroll, he saw me in college and he knows what I have. He’s just rooting for me and I appreciate it.”

Carroll also appreciated what Tate was able to deliver when given the opportunity.

“It was really fun to see him play ball and get it going,” he said. “Golden is a really good football player and he didn’t do anything out of the norm for him.

“He had a really good chance tonight, and he came through in a beautiful fashion.” 

Offered quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, “The most important thing that Tate did was he did everything right. He mostly ran the right routes, made the right reads and stuff like that. So that was important to see out of him.”

But there were others who also used this final preseason game to make a statement:

Jackson – The team’s starting QB completed 5 of 7 passes for 88 yards in directing two drives that produced a 25-yard field goal from Jeff Reed and a first down at the Raiders’ 15-yard line. But Jackson also tried to do too much, in Carroll’s estimation, by forcing the ball into coverage on a pass that was intercepted at the goal line.

“We found a rhythm today,” Jackson said. “We were able to gain some confidence. I think as a unit, as a first unit, we did a pretty good job, except for the interception I had.”

The No. 1 offensive line – After allowing five sacks against the Broncos last week, this unit not only kept Jackson clean, they provided ample time on some of his longer completions – including a 43-yarder to Tate that set up the Seahawks’ first touchdown.

“I want to commend those guys for the pocket I had tonight,” Jackson said. “I had seven drop-backs, or something like that, and I didn’t get touched. So that was great.”

And needed. First-round draft choice James Carpenter and Breno Giacomini split time at right tackle, a situation that will continue in practice this week as the coaches determine their best option against the 49ers.

Thomas Clayton – The third-year running back capped what Carroll called “a great preseason” by scoring on a 1-yard run for the Seahawks’ first touchdown and carrying 11 times for a game-high 42 yards to finish as the team’s leading rusher in the preseason. The question now: Is there a place on the 53-man roster for him, as the trio of Marshawn Lynch, Justin Forsett and Leon Washington are locks.

“That was my philosophy even going into practices throughout camp, I was just going to do my thing and let the chips fall where they may,” Clayton said. “So my approach was the same going into games – I’m going to do what I do and we’ll just see how it all ends up.”

Carroll liked what he saw from Clayton, from start to finish.

“He was really a star on our team,” Carroll said. “He played physically. He made some big plays. You can count on him. You know what you’ve got. I really thought he had a great preseason for us. We’ll see if we can figure that out.”

Thomas and the other “on the bubble” players won’t have to wait long, because the 80-man roster must be trimmed to 53 by Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks also got a second field goal from Reed (36 yards) and a second TD run (4 yards by Vai Taua) in the fourth quarter.

The defense, meanwhile, held the Raiders to one field goal, and also held on downs for three consecutive Oakland possessions to end the game.

“Defensively, we played solid tonight,” Carroll said. “We did a good job.”

The victory did not come without cost, however, as left guard Robert Gallery and defensive lineman Jimmy Wilkerson left the game with sprained knees. They are scheduled to have additional tests on Saturday to determine the extent of the injuries, and how long they might be sidelined.

“They are significant enough where we have to be concerned about next week for these guys,” Carroll said.

But on this night, in this final preseason game, there was enough good stuff to outweigh even the bad.

“I thought it was a very good finish for us,” Carroll said, “and we’re ready to get ready for San Francisco.”