Nicknamed "the Red Rifle", he played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he became the school's leader in quarterback wins and won the 2011 Rose Bowl.

[2] During his first nine seasons with the Bengals, Dalton led the team to five consecutive playoff appearances from 2011 to 2015 and received three Pro Bowl selections.

Two weeks before the season opener against Baylor, TCU head coach Gary Patterson named Dalton the starter.

[12] In the 2008 season, Dalton led TCU to an 11–2 record, finishing second place in the Mountain West Conference and seventh in the national AP Poll.

[18] On September 4, 2010, Dalton recorded his thirtieth victory as the Horned Frogs starting quarterback, passing Sammy Baugh as TCU's all-time wins leader.

[33] On August 8, 2011, before their first pre-season game versus the Detroit Lions, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis released his first depth chart per NFL rules but noted that it meant little.

Dalton, in one half of play before leaving the game due to injury, completed 10 of his 15 pass attempts for 81 yards and a touchdown, posting a passer rating of 102.4.

Despite a 24–22 loss, he led a comeback, completing 19 of 29 pass attempts for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the second half alone, and achieving a passer rating of 107.0 for the game.

[48] In the next game against the Washington Redskins, Dalton completed 19-of-27 passes for 328 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception, for a season-high 132.9 passer rating, in leading the Bengals to a 38–31 road victory.

[49] Furthermore, he lined up as a wide receiver on the first play from scrimmage of the game, acting as a decoy while wildcat quarterback Mohamed Sanu threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to A. J.

The following week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dalton threw for 244 yards and had three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in leading the Bengals to a 27–10 road victory.

With his performance, Dalton became one of three players in NFL history with at least 20 touchdown passes in each of his first two seasons, joining Peyton Manning and Dan Marino.

[57] In two of the next three following weeks, Dalton's mobility proved to be valuable as he scrambled for the go-ahead touchdown runs in victories over the San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles.

[64] The following week, 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.

[67] In the next game, 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 a 27–24 road victory over the Lions.

[73] After an early interception at the Chargers, Dalton again rebounded by passing for 149 yards and a touchdown in the second half as the Bengals won on the road by a score of 17–10.

[77] 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 a 42–14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

With the score tied at 37 in overtime against the Panthers, Dalton completed five of seven passes for 49 yards, but kicker Mike Nugent pushed the field goal wide right.

[90][91] He responded with 220 yards and three touchdowns for a season-best rating of 143.9 in a 27–10 road victory over the Saints, and his first career win in four attempts against the Texans in Week 11.

[92][93] During Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dalton rebounded from three first-half interceptions to run for a touchdown and throw for another in a 14–13 road victory.

[95] Two weeks later, Dalton threw two touchdowns and an interception in a 37–28 win over the Broncos to help the Bengals clinch a playoff berth for a franchise-record fourth straight year.

[97] Playing without many of his offensive weapons against the Colts on the road in the Wild Card Round, Dalton led the Bengals to their fourth straight playoff loss by a score of 26–10, with a 155-yard, no touchdown, no interception effort.

In the season-opening 33–13 road victory over the Raiders, Dalton threw his 100th career touchdown pass, which was to tight end Tyler Eifert, in the second quarter.

During Week 13, Dalton fractured the thumb on his throwing hand while tackling Stephon Tuitt after an intercepted shovel pass, missing the season's final three games (replacement A. J. McCarron was 2–1 with a 97.1 passer rating).

[120] Marvin Lewis praised it as "the best campaign of [Dalton's] career", and he earned his third Pro Bowl recognition, replacing the Super Bowl-bound Tom Brady.

Dalton scored 16 points in the final 29 seconds of regulation to force an overtime that the Bengals ultimately lost 38–35 to clinch the NFL's worst record.

[145] During a Week 7 25–3 road loss to the Washington Football Team, Dalton suffered a concussion after a late hit by Jon Bostic.

[168][169][170] Dalton was named the starter for the team during the offseason;[171] however he was beaten out by Bryce Young, the first-overall draft pick, a few days before the preseason.

[177] In his first start against the Las Vegas Raiders, Dalton threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Panthers to scores on seven of their 12 possessions as they won 36–22.

[179] No one in the vehicle required emergency medical transport, but Dalton sustained an injury to the thumb on his throwing hand, ruling him out for the Panthers' Week 8 matchup against the Denver Broncos.