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Mike Evans leads Week 17 Clutch nominees

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Mike Evans, Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck, Pittsburgh Steelers' Landry Jones, Tennessee Titans' Jurrell Casey, and the New York Giants' Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie each had the strength to come through during a key moment and contribute to wins during Week 17.

Thanks to those strong performances, each player is up for Castrol EDGE Clutch Performer of the Week honors. This is a deeper look at the significance of those conquests.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Strong stats to consider:
» Evans ended the season with 173 targets. That was the most in the NFL.
» He's the fifth player in NFL history to start his career with three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Those players are Evans, Odell Beckham, A.J. Green, Randy Moss and John Jefferson.

Power of the moment: Evans caught a touchdown pass with the game tied at 10 late in the fourth quarter to help the Bucs beat the Carolina Panthers, 17-16.

Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

Strong stats to consider:
» Andrew Luck ended the season with six straight games with at least two touchdown passes.
» While the Colts didn't make the playoffs, Luck had a solid bounce-back year compared to his injury-filled 2015 season. That season, Luck threw 15 TDs and 12 INTs with a passer rating of 74.9. This season, Luck maintained a rating of 96.4 and threw 31 TDs and 13 INTs.

Power of the moment:Luck threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle with nine seconds left Sunday to give the Colts a 24-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Landry Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers

Strong stats to consider:
» The Steelers are 11-1 this season when scoring 24 points or more. They're 0-4 when scoring less than 24 points.
» Pittsburgh finished the regular season with an 11-5 record. Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have won 11 or more games in four previous seasons. They reached the Super Bowl in two of those four seasons, winning one.

Power of the moment: Jones hit Cobi Hamilton with a 26-yard touchdown pass in overtime to beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-24.

Jurrell Casey, Tennessee Titans

Strong stats to consider:
» The Titans have now missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons. That ties a franchise record when they were the Oilers when they missed the playoffs from 1970-77.
» The Titans defense has shown a bright future, allowing just 289 yards of total offense from the Texans on Sunday.

Power of the moment: Casey sacked Brock Osweiler with less than 30 seconds in the game, sealing a 24-17 victory for the Titans over the Texans.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, New York Giants

Strong stats to consider:
» This was Rodgers-Cromartie's fifth INT on the season.
» Rodgers-Cromartie and Landon Collins are the first Giants teammates with five or more interceptions since Jason Sehorn, Phillipi Sparks and Tito Wooten in 1997.

Power of the moment: Rodgers-Cromartie intercepted Kirk Cousins twice, including a game-saving pick late in the fourth quarter, clinching a 19-10 victory over the Washington Redskins.

Follow Daniel Williams on Twitter _@danielwilliams_.

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