Through one preseason game, Elliott Fry appears to be the leader in the clubhouse for the Chicago Bears kicking job. Fry and Eddy Pineiro are still listed as the first team kickers on the Bears' depth chart with three preseason games to play, but the battle is starting to turn in Fry's favor. 

Fry converted a 43-yard attempt in the Bears first preseason game, a kick which Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera even attempted to ice him with a timeout, and an extra point attempt. Pineiro missed a 48-yard kick, but he made a 23-yarder when he was in the game. 

If the Bears are going off pure kicking stats, Fry appears to have a slight edge over Pineiro. Both Fry and Pineiro have been battling for the vacant kicking job all summer, a battle that has lasted for months between several candidates. That battle appears to have taken its toll on Pineiro as the competition is set to come to a close. 

"Yeah, it's a little exhausting," Pineiro said on the team's official website. "Just every day you feel like, 'Oh damn, if I miss this kick am I going to get cut? Are they going to trade for somebody else?' It does get annoying, but I can't control any of that. What I can control is showing what I can do on the field, and hopefully we get some more opportunities this next week.

If the Bears go by game experience in professional football, Fry may have the edge based on his recent success in the Alliance of American Football.  Fry was 15-for-15 for the Orlando Apollos this spring, his longest being 47 yards. Pineiro, acquired from the Oakland Raiders in May, has never kicked in an NFL regular-season game. 

While the competition may be getting to Pineiro, the odds can turn in his favor in this weekend's preseason game against the New York Giants. A few 40-yard kicks could go a long way. 

"The only way I can control that is by making kicks," Pineiro said. "I've just got to keep making kicks and bouncing back from last game and showing that I could be the guy and show off my leg strength. Hopefully we get some more opportunities. That's what I'm looking forward to."