Lyght, the Defense Spoil Ryan’s Debut : Football: Cornerback’s 74-yard fumble return is one of several big plays made by unit.

Ram cornerback Todd Lyght figured he had this opportunity coming, so he climbed on his soap box, made sure the microphones were live and actually talked about life in a winning locker room.

“We made a statement today,” said Lyght, whose 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown helped the Rams beat Arizona, 14-12, Sunday at Anaheim Stadium, spoiling Buddy Ryan’s regular-season debut as the Cardinals’ head coach.

“A lot of people counted us out and wrote bad things about us. But we weren’t worried about that. We heard about Buddyball, Buddyball and all that. Well, we came out and beat them. And the score doesn’t matter, we don’t care. If we win, 2-0, we’ll take it.”

Lyght certainly will, especially since the Rams have won only 15 times in 49 games since drafting him in the first round out of Notre Dame in 1991.

Winning? A totally new concept for the Rams.

“I’ve played organized sports since the second grade, and I had never played on a losing team until, finally, I get to the NFL,” Lyght said. “It was everything I had worked so hard for, and to be part of a losing team was tough.

“Yeah, I’ve learned how to lose . . . and that’s not a good thing.”

But today, the Rams are 1-0 after winning their first season-opener in six years, and they’re in first place in the NFC West for the first time since October, 1989.

They are in first place largely because of the defense, which had allowed 58 points during the past five quarters of an 0-4 exhibition season, gave up only one touchdown despite being on the field for more than 38 minutes in humid, 87-degree weather.

“I was exhausted out there,” said defensive end Fred Stokes, playing in his first game since coming off a sprained left knee in training camp. “It was hot, but we had to keep fighting.”

Neither heat, humidity, nor the Cardinal offensive line could disturb a Ram pass rush that was healthy for the first time in nearly a year.

Defensive end Robert Young, whose fast start last season was cut short by a knee injury, contributed two sacks for minus 14 yards. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sean Gilbert was back after missing nearly two weeks because of a sprained ankle. And Stokes contributed two tackles and shared a sack with David Rocker, who spelled Gilbert.

In all, the Rams sacked Arizona quarterback Steve Beuerlein four times for minus 30 yards, including Jimmie Jones’ 10-yard sack at the Cardinal six-yard line on their last possession of the game.

The Cardinals gained only 230 yards total offense, the fewest the Ram defense has allowed since giving up 175 against Pittsburgh in the second week of last season. Arizona tailback Ron Moore, who ripped the Rams for 129 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-10 Arizona victory last season, was used primarily as a decoy Sunday, gaining only 65 yards in 13 carries.

“Our defense won it for us,” Ram Coach Chuck Knox said. “They made play after play after play.”

The big plays:

* Lyght, beaten in the end zone by Ricky Proehl late in the second quarter, closed the gap and knocked the ball away at the last moment.

* An interception by starting strong safety Marquez Pope early in the third quarter.

* A fourth-quarter interception by rookie free safety Keith Lyle at the Rams’ 30-yard line.

* Cornerback Robert Bailey’s recovery of a muffed punt return by teammate Johnny Bailey at the Rams’ 44 with 2 minutes 49 seconds left, the biggest special teams play for the Rams in a long time.

* A dropped ball by Cardinal wide receiver Proehl, who had beaten Ram cornerback Steve Israel by three steps, took his eye off the ball at the Rams’ 10 and dropped a sure touchdown with 7:49 remaining.

* Lyght’s 74-yard fumble return, which broke the Rams’ record of 54 yards set by Jack Dwyer in 1952 against San Francisco.

Linebacker Joe Kelly forced the fumble when his arm knocked the ball loose from running back Larry Centers on a sweep play. The ball sailed right into the waiting arms of Lyght, who ran untouched down the left sideline and taunted the Cardinals by backpedaling the final five yards into the end zone.

So what’s with Lyght’s new attitude?

“Before the play they were showing highlights of guys running into the end zone real sweet (on the scoreboard),” Lyght said. “So I said to myself, ‘I’m going to do something stupid.’ ”