At the risk of having to turn in my man card, can I make a little confession?

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is a fainting goat. And I admire him for it.

What’s a fainting goat? Allow me to explain.

In his 18th NFL season, Manning has mastered the art of the self-sack. Amid the mayhem of the collapsing pocket, this 39-year-old quarterback no longer waits for an angry pass-rusher to knock the slobber out of him. Manning tackles himself and falls to the turf untouched.

“Sometimes … you have to kind of take your medicine and live to play the next down,” Manning said Wednesday.

‘Tis better to be a fainting goat than a sacrificial lamb.

Quick animal husbandry lesson: A farm animal called the myotonic goat literally falls down when somebody says boo. It’s known as the fainting goat, because its muscles freeze and its body crashes to the ground in response to panic. As best I can tell, video of fainting goats is the No. 2 reason YouTube was invented, right behind cats playing the piano.

Thanks to Manning, the fainting goat has a chance to become a thing in Denver, kind of like Tebowing was back in the day.

Behind a patchwork orange offensive line, Manning already has been sacked 10 times in this young NFL season. That’s not good for a veteran of so many football wars that Manning has trouble bending over to remove his cleats after a game.

But another reason Manning might be a football genius is he has figured out getting sacked hurts a whole lot less when you skip the dangerous 300-pound middleman.

The NFL is a manly game, played by 21st-century gladiators wearing silly pants and watched by violence-loving Americans who eat nachos on the couch and scream at the television. So, with this in mind, I delicately asked Broncos coach Gary Kubiak if he condones — or actually encourages — his QB to take a dive on occasion.

“I trust him to do what’s best,” replied Kubiak, taking no offense. “Peyton is smart enough and has been playing quarterback long enough to understand that in certain situations, he might have to stand in there and take the heat to make a play. But if we’re backed up on third down, it’s crazy for him to take a pounding.”

The only risk of injury from a phantom sack is a damaged ego. A ding to the pride takes far less recovery time than a separated shoulder.

Yes, it’s crazy fun to watch Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson run for his life as he scrambles to keep a play alive. To escape the rush of Detroit on Monday night, Wilson did everything short of jumping off the Space Needle in a squirrel suit.

But ask folks in Pittsburgh, Dallas or Indianapolis about how their playoff dreams playoffs suffered a blow when Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo or Andrew Luck are too banged up to play quarterback, and the wisdom of the fainting goat becomes evident.

In Kansas City, before defensive lineman Mike DeVito could put a finger on Manning, the aura of the Chiefs wrestled him to the ground. He also shamelessly ducked the purple rain of the Vikings, self-sacking in the shadow of his end zone during the first half. To avoid danger, Manning already has gone down on more phantom punches than Muhammad Ali ever threw at Sonny Liston.

“There’s no question about the old rule that a sack is always better than a turnover,” said Manning, who will stand and deliver the pass in the teeth of a fierce rush, when absolutely necessary. “There are certain times when you just cannot have a sack, if it’s fourth down or you’re trying to make something happen.”

Perhaps the real beauty of the fainting goat is it has useful applications outside football. As any man who has survived more than a decade of marriage understands, you’ve got to know when to take your losses. For example: When my spouse brings the heat of a honey-do list, I immediately go to the self-sack, dive into the La-Z-Boy and pray for pity.

As Manning admits, real men are extremely reluctant to concede defeat: “It’s not an easy thing to say they got you.”

But, hey, what’s pride got to do with it?

Yes, football is a macho game. And the fainting goat will never be mistaken for a macho move. But, to quote Dirty Harry Callahan, one of the toughest dudes in the history of tough movie dudes:

A man’s got to know his limitations.

Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or @markkiszla