bearfoil;
I am amazed that so distinguished a group as this one hasn't thought the PF was indeed acting on bad data (not his "fault"), and was doomed to a guessing game either way, No?
Where is the guessing game here? It was an airspeed indication failure. Engine thrust including all engine indications, the altitude indication, the IVSI, the aircraft attitude indicator and the ship's GPS (for groundspeed and actual altitude) were all functioning and available, and the use of these indications is guided by the UAS memorized drill and checklist. There was no need to do anything but wait.
There is no guessing game which is probably the reason that it hasn't been brought up for serious discussion. It can be brought up I suppose but where is the evidence and what is the defence for the notion that this was a guessing game?