Lamar Jackson is owning up to his role in a physical altercation with a fan in the Baltimore Ravens' season-opening game against the Buffalo Bills ... claiming while the spectator put hands on him first, he has to be better.
The moment happened in the third quarter of the "Sunday Night Football" matchup at Highmark Stadium ... when the guy slapped Jackson and teammate DeAndre Hopkins while they celebrated a touchdown near the stands.
Jackson retaliated by shoving the young man while the cameras were rolling -- a moment he wished hadn't happened.