PHILADELPHIA — Michael Vick, the quarterback known as much for his rap sheet as his athletic skill, watched the football tumble through the uprights not long before midnight on Saturday and knew his time was up.

The field goal that gave the New Orleans Saints the victory in an N.F.C. wild-card game over the Philadelphia Eagles very likely represented Vick’s final moments in an Eagles jersey. After losing his starting job to the young Nick Foles this season, Vick didn’t take a snap during the game. He stood like a spectator on the sideline, looking helpless and anonymous in a long black coat and an Eagles knit cap.

In the locker room afterward, Vick, 33, basically said he was too good to be a backup and wanted to be a starter somewhere next season. With Foles tabbed as the future of the franchise, don’t count on it being here in Philly.

Animal lovers everywhere can cheer Vick’s departure from this city. Especially those who have had to watch him play here since 2009, less than three months after he served time in a federal prison for his role in a dogfighting ring.