The crew did try to fly the plane, they didn't recognise the problem, they didn't comprehend what the situation was promptly, and when breaking the manual trim process they did not project the state forward as a result of that action, due to inadequate information and training. Were they flying the plane? they were, but they didn't know they had brought a knife to a gun fight.
Which is precisely why, when presented with an undesired aircraft state, unknown or ambiguous malfunction, or
a loss of situational awareness, the flying pilot must be ready and able to
Turn off the magic, Set the Pitch, Set the Power, Trim the aircraft, Monitor the performance, and Move the aircraft to a safe altitude. You do not have to know what is going on. You do need to know how to stabilize the aircraft and place it in a safe position so you then have the time to figure out what is going on.