On January 5, 2013, Dalton and the Bengals faced the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. In a defensive struggle with neither Dalton nor Texans quarterback Matt Schaub able to pass for a touchdown, the Bengals lost 19–13, the second consecutive year the Bengals fell to the Texans in the opening round of the playoffs. With 2:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, Dalton overthrew an open A.J. Green for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown.
On September 8, 2013, Dalton completed 26 of 33 passes for a career-high 78.8 completion percentage, 282 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions (arguably neither interception his fault), and a 91.8 QBR as the Bengals fell to the Chicago Bears, 24–21. The following week, Dalton threw for 280 yards and a touchdown as the Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20–10. Then, Dalton completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception for a 105.5 passer rating in leading the Bengals to a 34–30 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
On October 13, 2013, after two games without a touchdown pass (in a loss at the Cleveland Browns and a victory over the New England Patriots), Dalton rebounded by completing 26 of 40 passes for 337 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception for a 105.9 passer rating in a 27–24 overtime victory at the Buffalo Bills. For his efforts in that game, Dalton was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Then, he completed 24 of 34 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns for a 92.8 QBR and a 135.9 passer rating in leading the Bengals to victory at the Detroit Lions, 27–24. The following week, Dalton completed 19 of 30 passes for 325 yards, a career-high five touchdowns, and an interception in merely three quarters of play for a 125.7 passer rating and a career-high 98.9 QBR in a 49–9 win over the New York Jets. At the end of October, Dalton was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month.
On October 31, 2013, Dalton began another difficult two-game stretch. He passed for 338 yards at the Miami Dolphins but also had three interceptions, most critically one that bounced off the hands of Mohamed Sanu that if caught by Sanu likely would have sealed a victory for the Bengals, who ended up losing 22–20 in overtime; Dalton was sacked by Cameron Wake in the end zone in overtime for a safety to end the game. The following week, Dalton passed for 274 yards at the Baltimore Ravens with two touchdowns, most notably a 51-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass against the wind to A.J. Green as time expired in regulation, but also had three interceptions as the Bengals lost 20–17 in overtime. Dalton continued his struggles against the Cleveland Browns, as he threw two interceptions in the first quarter. However, he rebounded to throw three consecutive touchdowns as well, as the Bengals won the game 41–20. After an early interception at the San Diego Chargers, Dalton again rebounded by passing for 149 yards and a touchdown in the second half as the Bengals won 17–10.
On December 8, 2013, Dalton continued his upswing. He completed 24 of 35 passes for 275 yards and four total touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts, attaining an 89.2 QBR and 120.5 passer rating in a 42–28 victory. Although the Bengals lost at the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week, Dalton was able to pass for 230 yards and two touchdowns while overcoming six dropped passes by his receivers. For the second time in the 2013 season, he earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Dalton continued his December success the following week by completing 27 of 38 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns for a 92.0 QBR and a career-high 136.5 passer rating in defeating the Minnesota Vikings 42–14. With this game, Dalton and the Bengals became the 2013 AFC North Division Champions and Dalton had earned his third consecutive berth to the NFL playoffs, becoming just one of five NFL quarterbacks to make the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. While the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 34–17 the following week, Dalton struggled, scoring three total touchdowns and passing for 281 yards but also four interceptions.
Dalton threw three interceptions in the first half during the home opener against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1. Overall, he finished the game with 170 passing yards and had four interceptions as the Bengals were shut out and lost by a score of 20–0. Dalton's four interceptions tied his career high for a single game, with the other instance occurring against the Ravens in a 2013 matchup. Though the Bengals were eliminated from playoff contention by the time of the rematch with Baltimore in week 17, Dalton threw a game winning touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd with 44 seconds left in the game, eliminating the Ravens from the postseason and allowing the Buffalo Bills to clinch their first playoff berth since 1999.