Who holds the kicking edge, Chiefs or Ravens, in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game?

Generational talents Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson at quarterback; the coaching chess match between coaches Andy Reid and John Harbaugh.

The Chiefs’ running game vs. the Ravens’ stout defensive front; Baltimore’s top-ranked defense against superstar tight end Travis Kelce and a rejuvenated Kansas City offense.

Yes, Sunday’s AFC Championship Game could turn on a tantalizing matchup — one perhaps not as obvious as those mentioned above, yet one that would involve players who take the field for only a handful of snaps.

Two two most accurate kickers in NFL history, Justin Tucker of the Ravens and Harrison Butker of the Chiefs, square off with the stakes sky-high this weekend.

“I’m kind of biased because he’s my guy,” Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said of Butker. “But they’re both neck and neck. I think Tucker is outstanding. Consistent, strong, strong leg.”

Strong enough to have booted the longest field goal in NFL history, 66 yards off the crossbar at Detroit two years ago.

Don’t look for record distance on what is expected to be a chilly, rainy afternoon in Baltimore. But if any kickers can create a special moment or two, it’s Tucker and Butker.

“It’s the game within the game,” Toub said.

Tucker stands unmatched in terms of accuracy, having made 90.183% (395 for 438) of his regular-season field-goal attempts over a 12-year career. This season, he’s connected on 32 of 37, with four of his misses coming from attempts beyond 50 yards.

Butker’s most accurate season, meanwhile, has vaulted him into second place on that list. He’s nailed 33 of his 35 field-goal attempts in 2023 and now stands at 89.140% (197-for-221) over seven seasons.

They haven’t met in a game since Week 2 of the 2021 season, but NFL kickers are a close-knit community.

“The brotherhood of kickers, it’s real,” Tucker said. “To see Harrison doing so well, it does make me really happy for him.

“I’m not necessarily happy for the Kansas City Chiefs, but I am very happy for Harrison ...”

As a high school senior, Butker recalled seeing Tucker’s audition tape on social media. He drilled field goals from different angles and distances. Tucker wasn’t drafted but became one of the Ravens’ greatest free-agent signings.

“He makes it look effortless,” Butker said. “I think he’s really changed the kicking game and pushed it forward — which is great. So now all of us young kickers, we have someone to look to and say you know it is possible to make these 65-yard field goals and make these big game-winning kicks.”

Butker has had more playoff opportunities than Tucker. Over 17 postseason games, he ranks seventh all-time with 27 made field goals; he also ranks sixth in points, with 140. The Chiefs signed Butker off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad early in the 2017 season to replace Cairo Santos, who was injured at the time. Butker was so good, he simply never relinquished the job.

Butker also carries the postseason-clutch gene. Last year, his 45-yard field goal into the wind with eight seconds remaining beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game. Two weeks later, his 27-yarder with 11 seconds left won the Super Bowl over the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.

Two more of Butker’s playoff moments stand out. The Chiefs’ 13-second rally against the Buffalo Bills in the 2021 Divisional Round would’ve been a fleeting memory if Butker hadn’t delivered a 49-yarder on the final snap of regulation.

In similar circumstances, the Chiefs drove 48 yards in four plays over 31 seconds, and Butker made a 39-yard attempt to send the 2018 AFC title game (against the New England Patriots) to overtime.

Tucker’s most productive postseason, meanwhile, was his first. In the 2012 Divisional Round, he walked off the Denver Broncos with a 47-yarder in overtime. Then, in Baltimore’s Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers, his two field goals were the Ravens’ only fourth-quarter points in a 34-31 final.

Now the Ravens are one victory away from another Super Bowl appearance. And Sunday’s game may yet again come down to a final, deciding kick.