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Dalton was indecisive and repeatedly missed throws during a 34-13 win in Philadelphia that was set up by the Eagles' fumbling.
Despite their struggles on offense, the Bengals moved into playoff position with the victory last Thursday.
They can clinch a spot on Sunday by beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh, something that's been very tough for them to do. A lot of it will come down to whether Dalton pulls out of his recent slump.
'I've had chances and I haven't hit them,' Dalton said on Wednesday. 'I expect to play better myself, and I'm going to play better.'
The second-year quarterback is 0-6 against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. During the three losses to Pittsburgh, he has completed only 40 of 82 passes and never thrown for more than 170 yards in a game. The Bengals have only 38 first downs in the three games.
Dalton has been on a downturn in the last three games - wins at San Diego and Philadelphia, as well as a home loss to Dallas. His passer ratings of 65.2, 76.1 and 74.2 are his lowest for a three-game stretch this season. He has thrown for three touchdowns, been intercepted three times and gotten sacked 12 times.
Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said some of the sacks have been the result of Dalton holding onto the ball too long. He was 13 of 27 for 127 yards with six sacks in the loss at Philadelphia, one of the worst showings of his career.
'We expect to see progress and not regression, and he kind of took a step back,' Gruden said. 'That's disappointing. But in fairness to him, it's a road game, a Thursday night game against a pretty good defensive front and they have two good cornerbacks and they did a good job. They played hard and spirited and took it to us.
'But we had some plays that should have been made that weren't.'
Dalton's passer rating has been lower only one other time this season. He was 14 of 28 for 105 yards with a game-turning interception and a 56.4 passer rating during a 24-17 loss to Pittsburgh at Paul Brown Stadium on Oct. 21. Dalton managed only one completion to A.J. Green as the Steelers took away quick throws to the Pro Bowl receiver.
Dalton and Green never got comfortable against Pittsburgh's defense.
'There were a couple of opportunities,' Green said on Wednesday. 'But their scheme is so good it's hard to guess what they're doing.'
In winning five of the last six games, the Bengals have been balanced, with a good ratio of run and pass plays.
The one area though where they have struggled recently is finding another receiver to take the pressure off Green.
Mohamed Sanu was that guy until he sustained a broken foot three weeks ago. In last week's victory over the Eagles, Green was the only receiver to catch passes. In the first meeting against the Steelers, Green was held to one catch and Ryan Whalen led the team in receptions with four.
As the Sports Xchange suggests, Andrew Hawkins and Jermaine Gresham need to play bigger roles.