Not trying to defend or praise the crew as the report is still quite sparse. However, as pilots it's drummed into us to always trust your instruments and not your senses.
Machinbird, as you say going from perfectly trimmed to an illogical scenario in a few seconds should have alerted them to the fact that maybe the instruments were giving dodgy readouts. Surely a quick glance at the standby instruments would've confirmed they were straight and level to start with?
If this had happened in the day or with visible references outside I suspect the outcome would've been far more positive. All the holes lined up on this occasion...
Champ