We investigate numerically the mechanisms governing horizontal dragging of a rigid cylinder buried inside granular matter, with particular emphasis on enumerating drag and lift forces that resist cylinder movement. The recently proposed particle finite element method is employed, which combines the robustness of classical continuum mechanics formulations in terms of representing complex aspects of the material constitutive behavior, with the effectiveness of discrete element methods in simulating ultralarge deformation problems. The investigation focuses on the effect of embedment depth, cylinder roughness, granular matter macromechanical properties, and of the magnitude of the cylinder's horizontal displacement on the amplitude of the resisting forces, which are discussed in light of published experimental data. Interpretation of the results provides insight on how the material flow around the cylinder affects the developing resistance, and a mechanism is proposed to describe the development of a steady-state drag force at large horizontal movements of the cylinder.