PHILADELPHIA — Soon after Jon Dorenbos’s mother was murdered by his father, he moved in with his aunt and returned to his hometown for a Little League all-star game where he witnessed his first magic show. Today, Dorenbos, the Philadelphia Eagles’ long snapper, says that 30-minute experience helped turn around his life.

On Sunday, Dorenbos will finish his 13th N.F.L. season when the Eagles visit the Giants at MetLife Stadium. He is expected to play in his 149th consecutive game with the team, 13 short of Harold Carmichael’s franchise record. He has become an unlikely N.F.L. mainstay, given that he received no scholarship offers out of high school, was not selected in the N.F.L. draft and was placed on injured reserve and cut twice in his first four professional seasons. He also has developed into a highly regarded motivational speaker and magician who entertains crowds with his tricks and humor and inspires them with his personal story.

In August 1992, Dorenbos was playing in his suburban Seattle neighborhood when he heard a bell ring, signaling him to come home. His father, Alan, said his mother, Kathy, had gone out with friends. The next morning, Dorenbos woke up for baseball camp and thought his mother had left for an early swim. At lunchtime, the parents of a friend picked him up and said there had been an emergency.