TAMPA, Fla. — Taysom Hill’s blocked punt in the third quarter sparked a second-half surge and the New Orleans Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-14 Sunday at Raymond James Stadium to win the NFC South championship for the second straight year.

It marks the first time the Saints have won consecutive division titles in franchise history.

New Orleans (11-2) also ensured itself a home playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, either a wild-card game or divisional game depending on how the season finishes.

The Saints recognized the importance of the block.

“Listen, you call those momentum-changing plays, right?” quarterback Drew Brees said. “I think we all recognize that when you have those games where you’re struggling to get things going and just need one thing to just ignite the team, ignite the sideline and get you going. Obviously, that was a huge play in the game, because we go down and score a touchdown and I think scored on every possession after that.”

“I remember sitting on the bench next to (special teams) coach (Mike) Westhoff and he said something to me like, ‘Man, I’ve been a part of football for a long time and this is the type of game where we as a special teams unit need to make a big play to change momentum here,’” Hill said. “That was our mindset as a special teams unit and that’s what we were hoping for.”

The Saints trail the Los Angeles Rams (11-1) in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs but have a two-game lead over the Chicago Bears (8-4) for the No. 2 seed and the first-round bye. The Rams and the Bears played each other Sunday night.

Tampa Bay (5-8) led 14-3 at halftime but with 7:18 remaining in the third quarter, Hill broke through the Bucs’ line to block Bryan Anger’s punt. Dwayne Washington recovered the ball for the Saints at the 30. Five plays later Brees hit fullback Zach Line with a one-yard scoring pass and Alvin Kamara added the 2-point conversion to pull the Saints to within 14-11.

“When you get to rush next to Alex Okafor, it makes your job really easy,” Hill said “There were a few looks we looked at and saw during the week and we were able to run a little game. Coach Westhoff gives us the freedom to do emergency calls like that. AO (Alex Okafor) and I saw it, so we went for it. He draws so much attention that he took both the wing and the tackle and I got up there early.”

The Saints defense took over from there with sacks by A.J. Klein and Cameron Jordan (his second of the game), forcing a punt that gave the Saints possession at New Orleans 49.

New Orleans went 51 yards in 10 plays, capped by a fourth-and-one dive over the top by Brees with 11:46 remaining to giving the Saints an 18-14 lead.

The key to scoring for Brees?

“I guess a good vertical,” he said.

The Saints put the game away with a 17-yard touchdown run by Mark Ingram with 7:26 to play. Ingram tied Deuce McAllister on the team’s all-time scoring chart with the TD, the 49th on the ground for his career.

“It’s amazing, it’s a blessing,” Ingram said of tying the team rushing TD record. “Obviously, Deuce is the epitome of great backs that have come through New Orleans and I’ll just keep working my butt off. Like I always said, I want to be the best. That’s what I work for, that’s what I strive for. A lot of people helped me along the way, my teammates, my coaches, my family supporting me. I want to break it. Let’s talk after I break it.”

Wil Lutz added a 36-yard field goal with 1:12 to play, his second of the game, for the final margin.

The Bucs took a 14-3 halftime lead on two Jameis Winston touchdown passes to tight end Cameron Brate, one in each quarter. Winston ran the ball for 47 yards in the half but the Saints applied consistent pressure to shut out an opponent in the second half for the second straight game. It marked the first time the Saints have held opponents to 17 points or fewer in five consecutive games since Nov. 26-Dec. 24, 2006.

Tampa Bay was penalized nine times for 74 yards.

Marshon Lattimore intercepted Winston on the next-to-last play of the game.

Receiver Michael Thomas caught 11 passes for 98 yards. His second reception gave him the NFL record for most receptions in the first three seasons of a career.

The Saints’ three-game road swing ends Monday, Dec. 17 at Carolina. New Orleans will end the season with home games against Pittsburgh and Carolina.

“We’ve got three games left,” Jordan said. “We’ve got to play (Panthers quarterback) Cam Newton twice. That’s a hell of an offense. You’ve got to play, I don’t know how you initialize the kid – (running back Christian) McCaffrey. I don’t, there’s acronyms in situations for that kid, but McCaffrey, he’s an electric player. (Wide receiver Devin) Funchess is a strong receiver. That’s their offense.”