I think challenge progression should count while in-game. There have been multiple games where I did something and the challenge didn’t progress for example 8/10 sniper kills I hit 2 in-game but only get 1 or I hit 5 in a game and lag out and get no progress whatsoever.
They usually do so not sure why yours didn’t, maybe take a clip in theatre and submit it as a bug so they can fix it in future?
I think you only get progression after a game and the screen pops up showing what you advanced you never get anything while in a game